Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been
ranked as the world’s ninth most powerful person by Forbes magazine in a 2015
list which is topped by Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Modi was placed 14th in the 2014 Forbes list of world’s powerful people.
Forbes while releasing the list on Thursday at the same time said governing 1.2 billion people in India requires more than “shaking hands” and that Modi must pass his party BJP’s reform agenda and keep “fractious opposition” under control.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel is at the second spot followed by US President Barack Obama (third) and Pope Francis (fourth) and Chinese President Xi Jinping (fifth).
Microsoft Founder Bill Gates captured the sixth place while US Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen took the 7th spot and UK Prime Minister David Cameron stood at 8th and Google’s Larry Page made it at 10th position.
About Modi, the magazine said that India’s “populist” Prime Minister presided over 7.4 per cent GDP growth in his first year in office, and “raised his profile” as a global leader during official visits with Barack Obama and Xi Jinping.