Saturday, December 13, 2025
ADVT 
National

Obama Writes About PM Modi In Time Magazine, Calls Him 'India's Reformer-in-chief'

Darpan News Desk, 16 Apr, 2015 12:51 PM
    Headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whom President Barack Obama calls "India's reformer-in-chief", four people of Indian origin figure in the Time magazine's list of the World's 100 most influential people this year.
     
    Besides Modi, others on the influential magazine's list of 100 Titans, Pioneers, Artists, Leaders and Icons include Chanda Kochhar, managing director and CEO of ICICI Bank, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadela, and Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath.
     
    In his profile of Modi, the commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful country notes, "As a boy, Narendra Modi helped his father sell tea to support their family.
     
     
    "Today, he's the leader of the world's largest democracy, and his life story -- from poverty to Prime Ministera -- reflects the dynamism and potential of India's rise," Obama writes.
     
    Reflecting his close relationship with Modi, Obama referring to him by his first name recalls that when "he came to Washington, Narendra and I visited the memorial to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr".
     
     
    "We reflected on the teachings of King and Gandhi and how the diversity of backgrounds and faiths in our countries is a strength we have to protect," he wrote.
     
    "Prime Minister Modi recognises that more than one billion Indians living and succeeding together can be an inspiring model for the world," Obama wrote.
     
    "Like India, he transcends the ancient and the modern -- a devotee of yoga who connects with Indian citizens on Twitter and imagines a 'digital India'," Obama wrote.
     
    Chanda Kochhar is described by Anshu Jain, co-chief executive officer of Deutsche Bank, as "A banker with vision and reach."
     
    "She has brought India's largest private bank a global vision and impressive returns, while also reaching out to the nation's masses with branches in remote villages where banks simply didn't exist," Jain writes.
     
    Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is billed as "The turnaround artist" who is "setting Microsoft up for greatness again".
     
    "Changes that once would have been considered blasphemous -- releasing open-source software, building on iOS and Android and even making Windows free in some cases -- are turning Microsoft around," says Aaron Levie, the CEO of Box.
     
     
    Vikram Patel, co-founder of the NGO Sangath and the Centre for Global Mental Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, is described as a "Well-being warrior".
     
    "He helps spread the simple yet profound idea of mental health for all. He provides hope that mental illness and trauma make us neither weak nor unworthy of love and respect," writes Barbara Van Dahlen, founder of Give an Hour and the Campaign to Change Direction.
     
    The annual TIME 100 issue, the magazine says "tells 100 stories of individual influence. But taken together, these stories are an anthem to interaction, the convergence that occurs when you harmonise a good idea".
     
    For the third straight year, Pakistani education activist Malala Yousafzai, 17, is the youngest person on the list.
     
    The oldest person on the list is Tunisian President Beji Caid Essebsi, who at 88 finds himself the steward of the Arab world's youngest democracy.

    MORE National ARTICLES

    Richmond Photographer Denies Police Version Of Confrontation With Actor Ryan Reynolds

    Richmond Photographer Denies Police Version Of Confrontation With Actor Ryan Reynolds
    VANCOUVER — A Vancouver-area paparazzo reportedly arrested after a confrontation with actor Ryan Reynolds says the story being circulated is 100-per-cent false.

    Richmond Photographer Denies Police Version Of Confrontation With Actor Ryan Reynolds

    Burnaby Resident Files Petition To Recall 'Failed' MLA, Richard T. Lee: Elections BC

    Burnaby Resident Files Petition To Recall 'Failed' MLA, Richard T. Lee: Elections BC
    VICTORIA — Elections BC says a Burnaby resident has filed a petition to have a provincial politician recalled for allegedly failing to take action on important issues.

    Burnaby Resident Files Petition To Recall 'Failed' MLA, Richard T. Lee: Elections BC

    B.C. 'Hosed' In Port Coquitlam Land Sale To Liberal Donor

    B.C. 'Hosed' In Port Coquitlam Land Sale To Liberal Donor
    VICTORIA — The Opposition New Democrats say British Columbians were "hosed" in a Crown land sale that was snapped up by a Liberal donor at $43 million below the appraised value.

    B.C. 'Hosed' In Port Coquitlam Land Sale To Liberal Donor

    Indian P.M. Narendra Modi Arrives In Ottawa Today For Three-day Canadian Visit

    Indian P.M. Narendra Modi Arrives In Ottawa Today For Three-day Canadian Visit
    Modi's three-day trip is being billed by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office as a chance to broaden trade involving education, energy and science and technology.

    Indian P.M. Narendra Modi Arrives In Ottawa Today For Three-day Canadian Visit

    Three Suspects In Custody Over Alleged Bank Fraud In B.C. And Alberta: RCMP

    Three Suspects In Custody Over Alleged Bank Fraud In B.C. And Alberta: RCMP
    VANCOUVER — RCMP say a woman and two men are in custody after several fraudulent bank transactions in B.C. and Alberta.

    Three Suspects In Custody Over Alleged Bank Fraud In B.C. And Alberta: RCMP

    Oil Spill 90 Per Cent Cleared But Slick Reaches Beaches North Of City: Officials

    Oil Spill 90 Per Cent Cleared But Slick Reaches Beaches North Of City: Officials
    VANCOUVER — The federal coast guard is defending its response to an oil spill in Vancouver's harbour amid questions about how the slick washed up on beaches to the north.

    Oil Spill 90 Per Cent Cleared But Slick Reaches Beaches North Of City: Officials