Sonia Gandhi Ranked Sixth Most Powerful Woman in the World

August 23, 2012, 11:35 am

By PAMPOSH RAINA

Sonia Gandhi, the Congress party president and chairwoman of the coalition government running the country, is India's most powerful woman and the sixth most powerful woman in the world, according to Forbes magazine.

This is the ninth year in a row Forbes has listed the 100 women “who impact the world.” Mrs. Gandhi, 65, made it to the list for the fourth time, and moved up one notch from the list last year. She was also named the 11th most powerful person in the world last year, out of 70 people who were chosen by the magazine.

(The list, some noted, may be geared more toward those outside India than those inside. After all, Mamata Banerjee, the West Bengal chief mini ster who has practically held the central government hostage at certain times in the past year, didn't make the cut on the list of powerful women.)

Mrs. Gandhi, who underwent surgery for a mysterious illness last year, reported by many Indian media outlets to be a form of cancer, is “back in fighting spirit,” Forbes said, citing her public reprimand of “a fellow parliamentarian during session who had criticized her party's handling of this summer's rioting in Assam.”

The magazine added: “Lauded for overseeing heavy economic growth, she is also criticized for tolerating political corruption and failing to forge connections with India's fastest-growing demographic â€" younger voters.”

Despite the criticism, Mrs. Gandhi was ranked one spot ahead of the U.S. first lady, Michelle Obama (and just behind Jill Abramson, executive editor of The New York Times).

Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany once again ranked first, followed by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the U.S. secretary of state. President Dilma Rousseff of Brazil was third on the power list and Melinda Gates of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation was fourth.

Indra Nooyi, the chairwoman and chief executive of PepsiCo, was the next Indian woman on the list after Mrs. Gandhi, at No. 12, right behind the television host Oprah Winfrey. Ms. Nooyi, 56, has been in the Forbes list's top 10 for the past six years. “This superstar CEO last year returned $5.6 billion to shareholders, when PepsiCo net revenue grew 14% to $66 billion,” Forbes said. The magazine added that she is “in the hot seat” because of “languishing stock at the snack-and-soda giant and diminishing market share.”

Padmasree Warrior, the chief technology and strategy officer of Cisco, the world's largest computer networking equipment maker, was the third Indian woman on the list at No. 58.  Ms. Warrior, 51, “is responsible for all deals activity as one of the most acquisitive f irms in technology reconfigures its business strategy,” and is being “groomed for the top spot,” Forbes wrote. The publication also pointed to her 1.4 million followers on Twitter, who receive company updates and “cute pictures of her family.”

Right behind Ms. Warrior at No. 59 was Chanda Kochhar, 50, the managing director and chief executive of ICICI Bank, one of India's largest lenders. Ms. Kochhar “oversees assets of $93 billion, more than 2,750 branches in India and the bank's presence in 19 countries,” Forbes wrote. Ms. Kochhar, who became the company's youngest chief executive in 2009, is “pursuing a new strategy, prioritizing day-to-day banking business through its branches rather than big-ticket deals,” the magazine wrote.

The last Indian woman to appear on the 2012 list was Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, 59, the founder and chairwoman of Biocon, a biotechnology company, who came in at No. 80. Forbes described Ms. Mazumdar-Shaw as “India's first biotech entrepreneur.”