Nirmala Sitharaman debuts on Forbes most powerful women list

Roshni Nadar, Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw only other Indians on the list

Send message you don't need someone 'airdropped from Delhi': Sitharaman to voters [File] Nirmala Sitharaman | Sanjay Ahlawat

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has debuted on Forbes list of the most poweful women, for 2019. Sitharaman, who is only the second female to become a finance minister in India, is ranked 34th, higher than New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (rank 38), Britain's Queen Elizabeth II (rank 40) and Ivanka Trump (rank 42). 

Apart from Sitharaman, HCL Enterprise CEO and executive director Roshni Nadar Malhotra (rank 54) and Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw (rank 65) also feature among the Forbes most poweful women list. 

"True power depends on how women use their influence to make an impact. Money doesn’t necessarily mean someone is powerful; otherwise there would be far more than just 13 billionaires on this year’s 100 Most Powerful Women list," said Forbes's Elana Lyn Gross, publishing the list. 

German Chancellor Angela Merkel yet again topped the list, while European Central bank president and former IMF chief Christine Lagarde bettered her position to second rank from last year's third rank. Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, who initiated impeachment proceedings against President Donald Trump, is ranked third. Referring to Pelosi's recent "Don’t mess with me" remark to a reporter, Forbes said that could be the mantra for just about every one of the Forbes 100 Most Powerful Women.

At the helm of the finance ministry, Sitharaman is battling one of the worst economic slowdowns the country has faced in recent times. Captaining the ship founded by her father Shiv Nadar, Malhotra is responsible for all strategic decisions for the $8.9 billion technology company. Mazumdar-Shaw is India's richest self-made woman. Biocon, India's largest biopharmaceutical firm which she founded in 1978,  has successfully forayed into the lucrative US biosimilars market, catching the attention of investors.