Cricketer Virat Kohli, actor Deepika Padukone, Ola co-founder Bhavish Aggarwal and Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella are the Indians named in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in the world for 2018. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who made it to the list in April 2017, did not feature on it this time.
“Time’s annual list of the world’s most influential people is a designation of individuals whose time, in our estimation, is now,” the magazine said.
Former Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar wrote a tribute to Kohli. Kohli’s “hunger for runs and consistency” has been remarkable and has become the “hallmark of his game,” Tendulkar said.
Sachin Bansal, the executive chairperson of e-commerce firm Flipkart, wrote the profile for Aggarwal. Bansal said Aggarwal had built Ola and “scaled it to more than 100 Indian cities, empowered millions of driver-partners and commuters, and is a flag bearer for India’s consumer-tech ecosystem all by the age of 32”.
Vin Diesel, Padukone’s co-star in XxX: Return of Xander Cage, wrote that the actor “isn’t just a star”, but an “actor’s actor, dedicated to the craft”. He added that Padukone is the “best the Earth has to offer”.
Walter Isaacson, a former managing editor of Time, wrote the profile for Nadella. He said the Microsoft CEO fell in love with cricket, and used the principles of melding stars into a cohesive team at Microsoft. “The result is that in the four years since he inherited a sticky wicket, Microsoft’s market value has increased 130%,” he said. “More important, the company is now making products that feel more user-friendly, empathetic and collaborative.”
Other names on the list include United States President Donald Trump, London Mayor Sadiq Khan, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Chinese President Xi Jinping, North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un, Ireland’s Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prince Harry, his fiance Meghan Markle, #MeToo movement founder Tarana Burke, actor Nicole Kidman and singer Rihanna.
Time said a record 45 out of 100 people on the list were under the age of 40. It included 14-year-old actor Millie Bobby Brown, who is the youngest person to be included in Time’s top 100 list.
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