Seven Indians made it to the BBC’s list of 100 most inspirational women in the world in 2015: Tennis player Sania Mirza, singer Asha Bhosle, veteran actor Kamini Kaushal, farmer Rimppi Kumari, campaigner Mumtaz Sheikh and entrepreneurs Smriti Nagpal and Kanika Tekriwal. The list was released on Wednesday, with the statement: “Each year, BBC names 100 women - a mix of influential women who are world leaders in politics, science and entertainment, as well as less popular but inspirational women from all over the world.”

Mirza has had a career-best year on the courts, even winning the Khel Ratna in 2015, while Asha Bhosle is renowned for decades of ruling the Bollywood charts. The others are perhaps less well-known. Kaushal has acted in more than 100 films including a Cannes-winning performance in 1946. Nagpal runs a business for products manufactured by the hearing-impaired, and cancer-survivor Tekriwal established India’s first marketplace for private jets and helicopters. Shaikh is known for her campaign to provide public toilet facilities for women all over the country. Kumari, on the other hand, was chosen for the inspiring story of how she and her sister took over her father’s 32-acre farm in Rajasthan and turned it into a success.