PM Narendra Modi, along with Mamata Banerjee and Adar Poonawala, has secured a place in TIME Magazine’s ‘100 most influential people of 2021’ list.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has featured in the TIME Magazine’s ‘100 Most Influential People List’ along with west Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and SII (Serum Institute of India) CEO Adar Poonawala.
TIME published a list of ‘100 Most Influential People List’ which includes many prominent personalities throughout the world; especially those who were trending for their deeds and influenced people and communities. Magazine also includes US President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris, Chinese President Xi Jinping, Duke and Duchess of Sussex Prince Harry and Meghan, former US President Donald Trump, and co-founder of the Taliban Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar.
While featuring PM Modi in the influential people's list, TIME called him the third pivotal leader of independent India after Jawaharlal Nehru and Indira Gandhi who "dominated the country’s politics like no one since them."
However the magazine didn't shy away from alleging that PM Modi has pushed the country away from secularism and toward Hindu nationalism. "In addition to eroding the rights of India’s Muslim minority, Modi’s government has imprisoned and intimidated journalists who shine a light on its abuses and has passed laws crippling India’s thousands of NGOs and advocacy groups," read the article.
TIME Magazine this year referred West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee as 'face of fierceness in Indian politics'. The magazine also applauded her for her street-fighter spirit and self-made life. "Of Banerjee, it is said, she doesn’t lead her party, the Trinamool Congress—she is the party. The street-fighter spirit and self-made life in a patriarchal culture set her apart. If any coalition of forces were to come together to counter Modi nationally, Mamata is almost certain to be the pivot," TIME said.
TIME noted Poonawalla for his promise to develop 1.1 billion doses of COVID-19 vaccines for the developing world by the end of 2021. His assurance is considered as the backbone of the plan for global vaccine access mounted by a coalition of institutions, including the World Health Organization.
Though a fire incident at his Pune plant, and issues like trouble securing necessary raw materials and vaccine export ban delayed his ambitions, experts believe Poonawalla could still help end it.
Meanwhile, SII has almost doubled production of COVID-19 vaccines since May and is adding newer vaccines—including Novavax and Russia’s Sputnik V—to its portfolio in the coming months.