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

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However, Tata's greatest accomplishment so far remains the launch of world's cheapest car, the $2500 Nano, which has already stolen the heart of millions of Indians for whom owning a four-wheeler is a distant dream.

Overcoming sniggers and criticisms, Tata has managed to make a car that will meet all of India's automotive standards, Time says, citing Tata as saying, "A promise is a promise."

"To ensure that the group stays at the forefront of that change, Tata, 70, a bachelor with no children, who told the Financial Times last year that he would like to retire after the successful launch of the Nano, will have to choose someone as savvy and visionary as he has been to lead the 140-year-old firm. That could prove even more difficult than creating a $2,500 car," it says.

Other notables on the list are:

(Leaders & Revolutionaries category) Tibet's exiled spiritual leader Dalai Lama; Russian President Vladimir Putin; US presidential candidates Sen. Barack Obama, Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. John McCain; Chinese President Hu Jintao; US President George W. Bush; former deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim; Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd; US Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke; US Defense Secretary Robert Gates; Iraq Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr; Baitullah Mehsud, the suspected assassin of Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto; Pakistan Army chief Gen. Ashfaq Kayani; and Bolivia's leftist President Evo Morales;

(Heroes & Pioneers category) Hollywood star couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie; talk show host and media mogul Oprah Winfrey; US actress Mia Farrow; former tennis champion Andre Agassi; world champion cyclist Lance Armstrong; English musician Peter Gabriel; Brazilian soccer star Kaka; ruler of Dubai, Sheik Mohammed al-Maktoum; former British Prime Minister Tony Blair; and Burmese democracy heroine Aung San Suu Kyi

(Scientists & Thinkers category) New York mayor and Bloomberg owner Michael Bloomberg; Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen; and creator of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg

(Artists & Entertainers category) Hollywood actor Robert Downey Jr.; singer-actress and star of US television series Hannah Montana, Miley Cyrus; legendary musician Herbie Hancock; rock and roll legend "Boss" Bruce Springsteen; Afghan novelist and "The Kite Runner" author Khaled Hosseini; American pop and R&B singer-songwriter, record producer and actress Mariah Carey; Hollywood actor George Clooney; and Hollywood actor and stand-up comedian Chris Rock

(Builders & Titans category) News Corporation's Rupert Murdoch; Steve Jobs of Apple Computer; British rock band Radiohead; Cisco CEO John Chambers; Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos; co-founder and CEO of Digg.com, Jay Adelson; Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer; Chairman, President and CEO of JP Morgan Chase & Co., Jamie Dimon; Saudi Prince Alwaleed bin Talal bin Abdulaziz al-Saud; European Union's Commissioner for Competition, Neelie Kroes; General Electric's (GE) Chairman and CEO Jeffrey Immelt; fashion designer Karl Lagerfield; CEO of Goldman Sachs Lloyd Blankfein; Mexican billionaire telecom tycoon Carlos Slim; Anglo American mining company's CEO Cynthia Carroll; Editor-in-chief of French edition of Vogue, Carine Roitfeld; and TechCrunch blogger Michael Arrington

However, when Time asked its online readers to name the most influential people of the year, the number one choice from 200 candidates turned out to be Nintendo video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto, followed by South Korean singing sensation Rain and popular US television comedian Stephen Colbert.

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