Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is among the Forbes’ ranking of 100 most powerful women in the world. FM Sitharaman, 61, and other Indians in the list include HCL Corporation CEO and Executive Director Roshni Nadar Malhotra and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw.
Sitharaman is ranked 41st on the list this year. In 2019, she was ranked at 34. In May 2019, Sitharaman was appointed as India’s finance minister, and is also the Minister for Corporate Affairs. She is India’s first full-time female finance minister. The women on the 17th annual Forbes Power List hail from 30 countries and were born across four generations. “There are 10 heads of state, 38 CEOs and five entertainers among them. But where they differ in age, nationality and job description, they are united in the ways they have been using their platforms to address the unique challenges of 2020,” Forbes said.
US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw and HCL Enterprise CEO Roshni Nadar Malhotra have also been named in the list which has been topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel for the 10th year in a row. Nadar Malhotra comes in at the 55th spot, Mazumdar-Shaw — described as “India’s richest self-made woman” — is ranked 68th and chairwoman of Landmark Group Renuka Jagtiani is ranked 98th. German Chancellor Angela Merkel grabbed the No. 1 slot for the 10th consecutive year, with European Central Bank head Christine Lagarde coming in second for the second year in a row. US Vice President-elect Kamala Harris made the list for the first time—debuting in the No. 3 spot.
