Rediff

New York, Sep 1: Chief Executive-designate of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi, Congress President Sonia Gandhi, and ICICI Bank's Lalita Gupte and Kalpana Morparia are among the 100 most powerful women in the world.

India-born Nooyi finds herself as the fourth most powerful woman on earth, while Sonia Gandhi occupies the 13th position on the list.

Joint managing directors of of ICICI Bank Gupte and Morparia are on the 93rd position, while Vidya Chhabria, chairperson of Jumbo Group, Dubai, is at the 95th spot.

Angela Merkel, the first woman to become chancellor of Germany, has displaced Condoleezza Rice as No. 1 on our list of the 100 Most Powerful Women.

Merkel won a tight election last year to unseat Gerhard Schroder as chancellor. She's a former physicist from East Germany and a firm believer in free-market capitalism. Since taking office, Merkel has won respect on the world stage and popular appeal in Germany for her quiet diplomacy.

Despite her short time in office, Merkel has been dazzling world leaders, including Tony Blair and George W. Bush. But Merkel has a tough fight ahead of her. Her approval ratings have declined to 56 per cent from 80 per cent earlier this year, making it more difficult for Merkel to win big with key legislative initiatives, including health care reform and corporate tax restructuring.

She inherited a stagnant economy that has only lately shown signs of revival. At the same time, Merkel also has allied Germany with the U.S. to oppose Iran's nuclear activities, and she was vocal on energy security at the G8 summit meeting this summer, where she was the only female leader at the table.