Alia Bhatt, Satya Nadella, Sakshi Malik, and Ajay Banga, among 8 people, made their appearance on TIME's 100 Most Influential People of 2024 list.
From different walks of life, Indians have shown their merit and achieved excellence in various fields like technology, entertainment, business, and others. Every year world-renowned TIME magazine publishes its list of the top 100 most influential individuals in the world. It contains people from all over the world who have pioneered in their fields and made an impact on the world.
This year, 8 Indians made it on the list, The people were categorised in categories such as artists, leaders, titans, and icons. Let's take a look at all the Indian individuals on the list and their achievements this year.
1. Alia Bhatt
Alia Bhatt is an excellent Indian actress who proved her talent with several complex roles in movies such as Gangubai Kathiwadi, Raazi, RRR, and Gully Boy. She is one of a kind and has a massive fan following all over the world. British film director, Tom Harper described her in the TIME magazine as a 'formidable talent'. Alia Bhatt is also a receiver of the National Award for her spectacular work in Gangubai Kathiwadi and is amongst the highest-paid actresses in the industry.
2. Dev Patel
Dev Patel is a British actor with Indian origins, with his parents being Indian Gujarati Hindus. He made his first-ever appearance on the big screen with the Oscar-acclaimed 'Slumdog Millionaire', which made him an international superstar overnight. Additionally, Dev made his debut as a director this year with 'Monkey Man'.
3. Sakshi Malik
Sakshi Malik is the only female wrestler from India to win an Olympic medal. Last year, Sakshi emerged as a prominent figure in the fight against Brij Bhushan Singh, the chief of the Wrestling Federation of India, who was accused of sexual harassment of athletes. "This fight is no longer only for India’s female wrestlers, it is for the daughters of India whose voices have been silenced time and again," said Sakshi.
4. Satya Nadella
Satya Nadella is the Executive Chairman and CEO of Microsoft. This marks Satya's third appearance on TIME's list of most influential people. He completed his graduation from the Manipal Institute of Technology in Karnataka and moved to the United States of America for further opportunities. Under his leadership, Microsoft has invested in OpenAI and partnered with Mistral AI, pushing the company in a new, progressive direction.
5. Ajay Banga
Ajay Banga is the President of the World Bank Group and Executive Chairman of Mastercard. In the TIME magazine, US Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen described Banga as a leader with "skill and drive to take on the monumental task of transforming an essential institution." Banga was born in Pune and became a citizen of the USA in 2007.
6. Jigar Shah
Jigar Shah is an entrepreneur and the Director of the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office. According to Richard Branson, Jigar "leads one of the largest economic-development programs the world has ever seen." He was born in India and moved to the USA with his parents when he was just one year old.
7. Asma Khan
Asma Khan is an Indian-born British restaurateur and a successful cookbook author. She is the owner of Darjeeling Express restaurant in London and is known for her 'cool' personality. Padma Lakshmi described Asma's food as "surprising. It doesn’t taste like restaurant food—and that is the highest compliment."
8. Priyamvada Natarajan
Priyamvada Natarajan is an astrophysicist and a professor in the departments of astronomy and physics at Yale University. She is known for her significant contribution to the understanding of dark matter with her work in mapping dark matter and dark energy.
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