'Sonia Gandhi, Nooyi among 10 most powerful women globally'

UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and India-origin PepsiCo chief Indra Nooyi figure among the top 10 in the global list of most powerful women, in the league of leaders like Angela Merkel, Michelle Obama and Hillary Clinton.

Gandhi is ranked ninth while Nooyi is at the 10th place in the global list of world's 100 most powerful women leaders compiled by Forbes magazine for 2013.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel tops the list for the the third consecutive year, followed by Brazil's President Dilma Rousseff, Melinda Gates of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, US First lady Michelle Obama and philanthropist Hillary Clinton.

Private sector lender ICICI Bank Managing Director and CEO Chanda Kochhar is ranked 65th and Biocon Founder Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw has secured the 85th spot in the global list.

Cisco Systems Chief Technology and Strategy Officer India-born Padmasree Warrior is ranked 57th.

The global list includes influential women from a wide arena such as politics, media, entertainment, entrepreneurs, technology and philanthropy.

According to the magazine, the list features nine heads of state who run nations with a combined GDP of USD 11.8 trillion — including the Merkel, while 24 corporate CEOs on the list lead firms with USD 893 billion in revenues.

Germany's Merkel has made the list eight times in the past ten years and has been ranked first in seven times.

Other women who made it to the list include - Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg (6th), Christine IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde (7th), Oprah Winfrey (13th), Aung San Suu Kyi (29th) and Queen Elizabeth II (40th).

First Published: May 23, 2013 03:22 IST