Sunday, December 14, 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

    Medical Expert Says 6-year-old Boy's Injuries Comparable To High-Speed Car Crash

    Medical Expert Says 6-year-old Boy's Injuries Comparable To High-Speed Car Crash
    REGINA — A medical expert says a six-year-old boy who was beaten to death by an older child on a Saskatchewan reserve had injuries similar to those seen in high-speed car crashes or a 10-metre fall.

    Medical Expert Says 6-year-old Boy's Injuries Comparable To High-Speed Car Crash

    Omar Khadr Lawyer In Court For Alberta Teen Charged With Terror Offences

    Omar Khadr Lawyer In Court For Alberta Teen Charged With Terror Offences
    EDMONTON — A lawyer who is part of the legal team representing Omar Khadr is also defending a 17-year-old Alberta boy charged with terror-related offences.

    Omar Khadr Lawyer In Court For Alberta Teen Charged With Terror Offences

    Scotiabank CEO Calls For End To Bickering, Indecision Over Energy Infrastructure

    Scotiabank CEO Calls For End To Bickering, Indecision Over Energy Infrastructure
    Scotiabank's chief executive is calling on Canadian leaders to end the "inter-provincial bickering" and "political indecision" that is delaying several energy infrastructure projects.

    Scotiabank CEO Calls For End To Bickering, Indecision Over Energy Infrastructure

    Kelowna Judge Orders Destruction Of Pitbull After 'Savage' Attack On Owner

    Kelowna Judge Orders Destruction Of Pitbull After 'Savage' Attack On Owner
    A Kelowna court heard the male dog named Loki had a long history of running loose and being aggressive when he bit Jennifer Heitzmann on her arms and legs and broke a bone in her hand last November.

    Kelowna Judge Orders Destruction Of Pitbull After 'Savage' Attack On Owner

    Accused B.C. Terrorists John Nuttall Planned Distraction Bombing In Victoria Strip Club: Trial

    VANCOUVER — A B.C. court has heard that a man accused of plotting to blow up the provincial legislature proposed setting off explosives in a strip club washroom as a distraction from the main event.

    Accused B.C. Terrorists John Nuttall Planned Distraction Bombing In Victoria Strip Club: Trial

    Skiing, Salmon Spawning May Be Casualties Of Glacial Melt: Report

    Skiing, Salmon Spawning May Be Casualties Of Glacial Melt: Report
    Results of a 3D computer simulation, published in a newly released study, reveal in more detail than ever before the magnitude of glacial thawing due to climate change. The study was published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience.

    Skiing, Salmon Spawning May Be Casualties Of Glacial Melt: Report