One of the five Indian women in Forbes list of 100 most influential women of the world, Sonia Gandhi tops them and has been ranked 6th, a notch better than last year when she was ranked 7th

NEW YORK (TIP): Congress party president and UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi was ranked the sixth most powerful woman in the world on Forbes magazine’s annual list of the 100 most influential women.

She was placed ahead of U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama. German Chancellor Angela Merkel topped the list.

Gandhi, 65, was one of five Indian women among the 100 top women of the world. She ranked seventh last year.
PepsiCo chairman and CEO Indra Nooyi was ranked 12th, followed by Cisco Systems chief technology and strategy officer Padmasree Warrior in 58th place, ICICI Bank managing director and CEO Chanda Kochhar at 59th and Biocon founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in 80th place.

Forbes said Gandhi, “one-time heir to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty,” successfully underwent surgery last year and was “back in fighting spirit last month when she publicly reprimanded a fellow parliamentarian during session who had criticized her party’s handling of this summer’s rioting in Assam.”

“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,” the publication said