Forbes names Sonia seventh most powerful woman; Merkel on top

From Lalit K Jha
Washington, Aug 25 (PTI) Congress party president Sonia
Gandhi figures as the seventh most powerful woman of the world
in the Forbes list which is topped by German Chancellor Angela
Merkel and US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
64-year-old Sonia Gandhi, who is recouping from
unspecified surgery in a US hospital, is ranked seventh just
ahead of US First Lady Michell Obama in a list of 100 most
powerful women of the world released by the Forbes magazine.
Indian-American Indra Nooyi, the head of soft drink giant
PepsiCo, has been ranked fourth, followed by Sheryl Sandberg,
COO of Facebook and Melinda Gates co-chair and co-founder of
the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
Two Indian corporate executives Chandra Kochhar of the
ICICI (43rd) and Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw of Biocon (99th) have
figured in this list in which the third place is occupied by
Dilma Rousseff, who became Brazil's first woman President.
"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--younger voters," said Forbes about Sonia Gandhi.
"Gandhi is an avid scholar of the arts, and holds a
degree in oil painting conservation. She recently underwent
surgery in the US," it added.
"The managing director and CEO of India's second-largest
bank, Chanda Kochhar rules over assets of USD 118 billion and
profits of USD 1.35 million," Forbes said.
"India's first biotech entrepreneur, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw
founded Biocon in 1978 at just 25. Since then Biocon has
become only the second Indian firm to list a USD 1 billion IPO
on its first day of trading," it added.