Late Putin Critic Navalny's Wife, Alia Bhatt, Sakshee Malikkh In Times's List Of 100 Most Influential People | Check Here

Several Indians, including Olympian wrestler Sakshee Malikkh, Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, World Bank President Ajay Banga, made it to the prestigious Times's list of 100 most influential people in the world released on Wednesday.

Late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's wife Yulia Navalnaya has also featured in the Times's list of 100 most influential people in the world.

Describing Yulia Navalnaya, Time's magazine said: "To the benefit of people around the world, Yulia Navalnaya has now assumed her own leadership role on the world stage. Navalnaya has vowed to continue her husband’s fight for justice and the rule of law, giving renewed hope to those working against corruption and for a free, democratic Russia."

Alexei Navalny, a vocal critic of Putin, died on February 16 after collapsing at an Arctic penal colony where he was serving a long jail term. Critics and Russian opposition leaders have alleged Putin's role behind Navalny's death.

Indians In Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024’ List

Among the Indians in the Time’s ‘100 Most Influential People of 2024’ list, some are World Bank President Ajay Banga, Bollywood actor Alia Bhatt, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, Olympian wrestler Sakshi Malik and actor-director Dev Patel.

The list also includes US Department of Energy’s Loan Programmes Office director Jigar Shah, Professor of Astronomy and Professor of Physics at Yale University Priyamvada Natarajan; Indian-origin restaurateur Asma Khan; as well as Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny's widow Yulia Navalnaya.

• Ajay Banga: Time’s profile of the World Bank president Ajay Banga, written by US Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, said, “It’s not easy to find a leader with the skill and drive to take on the monumental task of transforming an essential institution, but since becoming World Bank president last June, Ajay Banga has done just that."

She said Banga comes to the World Bank after leading a global organisation through which he brought millions of unbanked people into the digital economy. At the World Bank, he set forth a new vision to create a world free of poverty on a livable planet and moved boldly to make good on it — from pioneering innovative financial tools to reimagining partnerships across the multilateral development banks and with the private sector."

• Alia Bhatt: Describing Bhatt as a "formidable talent", director, producer and writer Tom Harper said in the Time profile that she is “not only one of the world’s leading actors, admired for her work in the Indian film industry for over a decade — she is also a businesswoman and a philanthropist who leads with integrity”.

“Alia’s superpower is her ability to mix movie-star magnetism with authenticity and sensitivity. As an actor she is luminous, and as a person she brings the grounded assurance and creativity that make a truly international star,” Harper, who directed Bhatt in his movie ‘Heart of Stone’ said.

• Satya Nadella: Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, written by co-CEO and president of Ariel Investments Mellody Hobson, said he is “profoundly influential in shaping our future. And that’s a good thing for humanity”.

“Microsoft’s significant investment in OpenAI and partnership with Mistral AI puts him at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution. A technologist with heart, Satya sees AI as a tool that will empower humans. Still, there’s rightful concern about unintended consequences and misuse. That’s why it’s so reassuring that Satya is one of AI’s stewards. His thoughtfulness and humility should make us safer,” it said.

• Sakhsee Mallikkh: Olympion Sakshee Malikkh's profile, written by Oscar-nominated documentary filmmaker Nisha Pahuja, described her as one of India’s “most celebrated wrestlers” who had gathered at Jantar Mantar in Delhi in early 2023 to demand the immediate arrest and resignation of chief of the Wrestling Federation of India Brij Bhushan Singh, accused of sexually harassing female athletes.

“What began as a small, targeted protest to demand decisive government action in favour of the wrestlers ballooned instead into a yearlong battle unprecedented in Indian sport, drawing support from across the country and attention from across the world,” Pahuja writes in her profile of Malik for Time.

“This fight is no longer only for India’s female wrestlers,” she said, of the movement Malik helped spark, “it is for the daughters of India whose voices have been silenced time and again”.

• Dev Patel: the Time profile of actor Dev Patel by Oscar-winning actor Daniel Kaluuya said that he “radiates goodness". "His humanity shines through every time he graces the screen, leaving you no choice but to root for him even when his character is doing something foul; his presence makes you understand where he’s coming from,” the description read.

"Patel made his directorial debut with ‘Monkey Man’. “Dev sets the pace. He’s limitless. He’s fearless. Our responsibility as a generation is to go into familiar spaces and see them through new perspectives, thus creating, finding, and sharing a space that has never been touched before. He has that gift. He continues to surpass himself and surprise us, and we are all waiting for where he’ll take us next,” it said.

• Priyamvada Natarajan: The profile of Yale University astrophysicist Pryamvada Natarajan, written by Shep Doeleman, another astrophysicist and the founding director of the Event Horizon Telescope, said that a novel approach developed years ago by her “brought us closer to under­standing a basic mystery in astron­omy: How do the supermassive black holes that lurk at the centres of most galaxies form?”

“Priya has a knack for pursuing the most creative research, and as a fellow astronomer, I?am always inspired by her work. Her latest result takes us one step closer to understanding our cosmic beginnings,” Doeleman said.

• Jigar Shah: Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Group, wrote in Jigar Shah's profile that he has "dedicated his life to unlocking the entrepreneurial opportunity that lies in a clean-energy transition."

Shah is the director of the US Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office.

"And as director of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Loan Programs Office, he is demonstrating how this truly is one of the greatest opportunities of our time," Shah's profile read.

"Overseeing more than $200 billion in government loans to bring energy innovation to the market, Jigar leads one of the largest economic-development programs the world has ever seen. His work may well usher in an unprecedented era of green and clean prosperity, and of course new jobs," it read.