Finance Minister Sitharaman ranked 34th on 100 most powerful women in the world: Forbes

• German Chancellor Angela Merkel headed the Forbes 2019 list of "the 100 most powerful women in the world."
• Sitharaman, the newcomer to Forbes list of strongest women, ranks 34th

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sithraman, CEO of HCL Corporation, Roshni Nadar Malhotra, and Biocon Corporation, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, have been named among the 100 most powerful women in the world by Forbes.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel presided over the Forbes 2019 list of the 100 most powerful women in the world, followed by European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde and the United States House Representative Nancy Pelosi ranked third. Also on the list is the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, Sheikh Hasina (29).

In 2019, women around the world took action, demanding leadership positions in government, business, charity, and the media. "You shouldn't be playing with these pioneers," Forbes said.

Sitharaman, the newcomer to Forbes list of strongest women, is ranked 34th. The Indian Finance Minister Sitharaman also held the position of Minister of Defense of the country.

Sitharaman is the first woman to keep a full-time portfolio. Before that, former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi briefly assumed the additional cabinet position.

Nadar Malhotra ranks 54th in the list. As CEO of HCL, she is responsible for all the strategic decisions of the $ 8.9 billion technology company.

Forbes said Malhotra is also the chairperson of the company's Corporate Social Responsibility Committee and is a member of the Shiv Nadar Foundation which focuses on education and has established some of the best universities and schools in India.

Mazumdar-Shaw, ranked 65th on the list, is the wealthiest self-made woman in India and founder of the country's largest biopharmaceutical company, Biocon, in 1978.