Roshni Nadar-Malhotra, Mazumdar-Shaw, Priyanka Chopra among world's 100 most powerful women: Forbes
New York, Dec 6: IT stalwart Roshni Nadar Malhotra, biotechnology pioneer Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw, media mogul Shobhana Bhartia and actor Priyanka Chopra have been named among the world's 100 most powerful women by Forbes in a list topped by German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
Merkel, 64, a four-time Chancellor, retained the top spot in The World's 100 Most Powerful Women 2018. It is the eighth consecutive year and 13 times in total in the 15 years of the annual list she has topped.
She is followed by UK Prime Minister Theresa May, who for the second year in a row has retained the No 2 spot on the list. May, 62, is followed by International Monetary Fund managing director Christine Lagarde (No 3), General Motors CEO Mary Barra (No 4), and Fidelity Investments CEO Abigail Johnson (No 5).
Nadar Malhotra, CEO, HCL Technologies is ranked 51st on the list. The 37-year old is responsible for all strategic decisions for the USD 8.1 billion enterprise, which operates in technology, healthcare and infosystems.
Nadar Malhotra is also the Vice Chairperson of the board of HCL Technologies and the Chairperson of its CSR Committee. She is a trustee of the Shiv Nadar Foundation, which is focused on education and has established some of India's top colleges and schools.
Mazumdar-Shaw, Founder and Chair, Biocon, is ranked 60. India's richest self-made woman had founded the country's largest bio pharmaceutical firm in 1978.
The firm has successfully forayed into the lucrative US biosimilars market, catching the attention of investors and creating a surge in market cap, Forbes said.
Biocon became the first company to gain approval from the USFDA for two different biosimilars of drugs used in certain cancer treatments.
The 65-year old business woman has invested in research infrastructure and scientific talent with the aim of building a deep R&D-based biotech firm, not a copycat generics maker.
Bhartia, 61, Chairperson and Managing Director, HT Media, is ranked 88th. In 2013, Bhartia launched the business weekly MintAsia in Singapore and then bought Webitude, a social and digital media outfit. HT Media's tutoring arm, Studymate, has expanded into coaching students for the admissions exam required by India's elite engineering schools.
Chopra, who married American singer and actor Nick Jonas this week, comes in at the 94th spot.
Forbes said Chopra, 36, is "arguably the most successful Bollywood actor to cross over to Hollywood".
Chopra made her US big-screen debut in 2017's "Baywatch" and became the first Indian actor to lead a drama series on American television as the former star of ABC's "Quantico."
She launched her own production company, Mumbai-based Purple Pebble Pictures, to promote regional filmmakers and emerging Indian talent.
In 2018, she became a tech investor, putting money into dating app Bumble's investment fund and Holberton School for software engineering.
The UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and UN Foundation Girl Up Champion also launched the Priyanka Chopra Foundation for Health and Education.
"Forbes' Most Powerful Women 2018 list reflects what is always known about power, how ephemeral it is and how volatile it can be," says Moira Forbes, Executive Vice President, Forbes Media.
"The world's most powerful women are leading amidst a tumultuous time where geopolitical tensions are on the rise, key economies are facing instability, and where trust in institutions is at an all-time low."
The 100 women on the list are women who are building billion-dollar brands, calling the shots in the financial markets, crisscrossing the globe to broker international agreements, and provide aid to those in need.
Their accomplishments are formidable on their own, and even more so given how difficult it can be to establish inroads into industries and job titles traditionally dominated by men, especially in tech, venture capital, and Hollywood.
They are builders, disruptors, and innovators in every sector from business to creative worlds, taking a modern, forward-looking view on power and using their positions to better the world.
Members of the 2018 Most Powerful Women list represent women in six categories: business (27 honorees), technology (18), finance (12), media & entertainment (16), politics & policy (22), and philanthropy (5). In total, the Power Women control or influence nearly USD 2 trillion in revenues and oversee 5 million employees.
The 2018 list spans more than six generations of influential women, with Taylor Swift the youngest honoree at 28 and Queen Elizabeth II the oldest at 92.
The list also includes siblings for the first time Anne and Susan Wojcicki of 23andMe and YouTube respectively.
North America represents 50 women on the list, Asia Pacific 22, Europe (inclusive of Russia and Turkey) 17, the United Kingdom 7, the Middle East 3, one in Africa.
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Indian mobile hospital treats over 2,200 cyclone-hit people as New Delhi ramps up relief efforts in
Colombo (PTI): A mobile hospital set up by India in Sri Lanka has provided medical care to over 2,200 people affected by Cyclone Ditwah, as New Delhi ramped up its assistance to the flood-ravaged island nation with engineering support and delivery of fresh relief consignments, the Indian mission here said on Sunday.
Sri Lanka has been grappling with widespread flooding, landslides and severe infrastructure collapse triggered by the cyclone, leaving several districts isolated and severely straining the country's disaster-response capacity.
At least 627 people have been killed and 190 remain missing as of Sunday noon due to catastrophic floods and landslides caused by extreme weather conditions since November 16.
Sharing a social media post by the Ministry of External Affairs on its X handle, the Indian High Commission said a field hospital set up by India in Mahiyanganaya near Kandy has provided medical care to more than 2,200 people affected by the cyclone since December 5.
The hospital has also performed 67 minor procedures and three surgeries, it said. The field hospital was airlifted to Sri Lanka by an IAF C-17 aircraft along with a 78-member Indian medical team on Tuesday.
In another post, the mission said Indian Army engineers, working with Sri Lanka Army Engineers and the Road Development Authority, in Kilinochchi have begun removing a damaged bridge on the Paranthan–Karachchi–Mullaitivu (A35) road, a key route disrupted by the cyclone.
"This joint effort marks another step toward restoring vital connectivity for affected communities," it said.
India has additionally sent nearly 1,000 tonnes of food items and clothing contributed by the people of Tamil Nadu. Of these, about 300 tonnes reached Colombo on Sunday morning aboard three Indian Naval ships.
High Commissioner Santosh Jha handed over the supplies to Sri Lankan Minister for Trade, Commerce, Food Security and Cooperative Development Wasantha Samarasinghe.
India, on November 28, launched 'Operation Sagar Bandhu', a Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) initiative, to aid Sri Lanka in its recovery from the devastation caused by Cyclone Ditwah.
Since the launch of the operation, India has provided about 58 tonnes of relief material, including dry rations, tents, tarpaulins, hygiene kits, essential cloths, water purification kits and about 4.5 tonnes of medicines and surgical equipment, the Indian mission said in a press release on Sunday.
Another 60 tonnes of equipment, including generators, inflatable rescue boats, Outboard Motors, and excavators, have also been brought to Sri Lanka, it said, adding that 185 tonnes of Bailey Bridge units were airlifted to restore critical connectivity along with 44 engineers.
Two columns of the National Disaster Response Force, comprising 80 experts and K9 units with specially trained dogs, assisted with immediate rescue and relief efforts in Sri Lanka.
Besides the field hospital in Mahiyanganaya, medical centres have also been set up in the badly hit Ja-Ela region and in Negombo. INS Vikrant, INS Udaygiri, and INS Sukanya provided immediate rescue and relief assistance to Sri Lanka.
Apart from the two Chetak helicopters deployed from INS Vikrant, two heavy-lift, MI-17 helicopters of the Indian Air Force are actively involved in evacuations and airlifting relief material, the release said.
At the request of the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre, a virtual meeting was organised between DMC and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO)'s National Remote Sensing Centre on Saturday.
Since the onset of the disaster, ISRO has been providing maps to assist DMC in its rescue efforts, the release said.
