Sonia, Nooyi in Time's 100 Most Influential People

New Delhi, May 4: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who broke through the confines of domesticity to revitalise India's oldest party with her sheer charisma and political adroitness, steel tycoon Lakshmi Narayan Mittal -- the world's fifth richest man -- and Indra Nooyi, CEO of quintessentially American company, PepsiCo, are the three Indians featuring in Time magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the world.

The list also includes Chinese President Hu Jintao, who makes to the list for the first time, Bill and Mellinda Gates, Pope Benedict XVI, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Queen Elizabeth II, Hillary Clinton, Oprah Winfrey, tennis star Roger Federer and dashing Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio.

Surprisingly, Osama bin Laden, the sworn enemy of the US, finds a mention in the list that also features former US Vice-President and environmental activist Al Gore, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, US Secretary of State Condoleexxa Rice and US Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

''The Time 100 recognises the men and women whose power, talent or moral example is transforming our world,'' says the magazine.

The list is divided into five sections: Leaders and Revolutionaries; Builders and Titans; Artists and Entertainers; Scientists and Thinkers; and Heroes and Icons.

This year's list contains more names from Asia than previous years. Also for the first time, the Time 100 includes a list of ''Power Givers'' with a mind for philanthropy and thoughtful activism, including Li Ka-shing, Asia's richest man, and Bill and Mellinda Gates.

This year's diverse list features personalities from 27 countries and a wide range of disciplines, and includes 29 women and 71 men.

A brief write-up in the magazine on Ms Gandhi says: ''Imagine if the US were run by an Indian Hindu woman without a college degree. It's tough: the US has never elected anyone who's not Christian, white and male - even as Vice-President. ''But India, which is an even bigger democracy, is run in all but name by an Italian Catholic widow with a high school education.'' In the 16 years since the assassination of her husband Rajiv, Sonia Gandhi, nee Maino, has become the face of the country's most famous family, it says.

''As leader of India's Congress Party, she has also managed the largest political party in the country and steered it to power. And she has done all this wearing a sari.'' The article further says: ''Though Singh (Dr. Manmohan Singh) is Prime Minister, it is Sonia, 60, who is the kingmaker. And her most lasting legacy may lie in her children Rahul and Priyanka, one of whom may well become India's Prime Minister someday, ascending to the high office that their mother has - thus far - renounced.'' By turning down the prime ministership in 2004 and anointing economist Manmohan Singh in her stead, she made a gesture that was Gandhian, and it solidified her hold on power.

''For ordinary Indians, this act of renunciation held tremendous mythic resonance,'' says the laudatory article.

The article on Lakshmi Mittal, the CEO of Arcelor Mittal, the world's largest steel company, describes him as ''the Indian reincarnation of Andrew Carnegie.'' ''Both were accountants whose vision greatly exceeded that craft.

Both overcame fierce opposition, and both leaped impossibly high hurdles to reach goals that boggled their contemporaries' minds.

It Says Mittal's wealth and power came from achieving his dream of consolidating the global steel industry. Carnegie's came from consolidating the American steel industry.

''Both gave notoriously glamorous parties. Carnegie was, and Mittal is, famously generous and charitable, although Mittal has given millions of dollars without fanfare to tsunami relief and other causes. Carnegie's philanthropy was instrumental in spreading his fame.'' Most remarkably, Mittal's story is far from finished. Steel is truly a global commodity, with 40 per cent crossing a national border before it is used. Despite being three times the size of its nearest competitor, Mittal's company is in the early stages of penetrating the world's largest market, China.

''If he were alive today, Carnegie might well be green with envy,'' says the article, complimenting the business acumen of the 56-year-old Mittal.

About Indra Nooyi, 51, the article says, the shocking thing is not who she is but the world she has inherited. Globalism was not new when she joined PepsiCo more than a decade ago, but the globe part has changed.

''The world has gone through a radical shift,'' says Nooyi.

''There's incredible macroeconomic stability. That hasn't happened in the last 35 years...I need a healthy consumer out there. The only way I can do that is sustainability."

UNI