Three Indians feature in Time's list of "100 Most Influential People"

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Gandhi, the chairperson of secular political party Congress which is leading the coalition government at the center, has been listed in the Leaders and Revolutionaries category while PepsiCo's Indian-born CEO Indra Nooyi and India's most respected business conglomerate Tata Group's chairman Ratan Tata feature in the category of Builders and Titans.

According to former UN undersecretary-general Shashi Tharoor, reporting on Gandhi for Time, the "story of Sonia Gandhi, 61, is remarkable at every level, and the fairy-tale metaphor barely begins to scratch the surface of its extraordinariness."

"But which story is one to tell- That of the Italian who became the most powerful figure in a land of a billion Indians- That of the reluctant politician who led her party to power- That of the parliamentary leader who rejected the highest office in her adoptive land, one she had earned by her hard work and political courage- That of the woman of principle who demonstrated that one could stand for the right values even in a profession corroded by cynicism and cant- That of the novice in politics who became a master of the art, trusted her own instincts and discovered she could be right more often than her jaded rivals could ever have imagined-" Tharoor says, adding, "The story of Sonia Gandhi must be all these stories, and more."

Gandhi was "offered the crown on a brocade cushion" but (she) turned it down, instead preferring to "remain behind the throne, walking with the peasantry, rallying the people but leaving power in the hands of her gray-haired viziers," he says, speaking of the "queen" who turned "bliss to triumph to tragedy to triumph again."

Nooyi, says Howard Schultz, chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks Coffee Co., is a "world class leader" whose "sharp strategic mind, tremendous market insight and humanitarian contributions all combine to make her a rare executive among the global corporate giants."

Nooyi, says Schultz, "was also way ahead of her competitors in moving the company toward healthier products. She pushed for PepsiCo to buy Quaker Oats and Tropicana.

"I wasn't surprised when PepsiCo removed trans fats from its products well before most other companies did," he says.

"As someone who has always aspired to build a company committed to its people and to the world, I admire her determination to achieve sustainability at an established company like PepsiCo. And I believe that all socially responsible companies could learn from Indra Nooyi's style of leadership. She welcomes hearing from people who disagree with her, but she is single-minded about following the path she believes is best for her company and its shareholders," he adds.

As for Ratan Tata, the chairman of the $66 billion Tata Group, which operates in more than 80 countries across six continents, employing over 300,000 people and have business interests that include steel, automotive, technology, consumer products, energy, hospitality and beverages, during his stewardship, Tata grew to be a global name specially with the acquisitions of Anglo-Dutch steel maker Corus and Ford Motor Co.'s British marques Land Rover and Jaguar.

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