New Challenges for India's Most Powerful

BusinessWeek's latest list of the 50 Most Powerful People in India reflects the impact of the Satyam scandal and the global economic crisis

By Bruce Einhorn

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On Apr. 16 voters in the world's largest democracy started going to the polls, and in the coming weeks, more than 700 million Indian voters will be able to have their say on who should form their next government. In 2004, when Indians last voted in national elections, the country was in the midst of an economic boom. In the years following the victory of the Congress Party, India's stock market soared, its IT outsourcing and drug companies further established themselves as global leaders, and Indian conglomerates such as the Tata Group made big acquisitions around the world.

When BusinessWeek ran its first list of the 50 Most Powerful People in India, in 2007, many of the top names in business, finance, technology, politics, and entertainment were basking in the glow of the Indian miracle. Now recessions in the U.S., Europe, and Japan have slammed the brakes on India's miracle economy, at least temporarily. Indians are also living with the memory of the November terrorist attacks in Mumbai. And the Satyam (SAY) scandal has cast a cloud over one of the country's largest outsourcing companies.

The latest edition of BusinessWeek's India Top 50, chosen by the magazine's reporters and editors, reflects the change in climate. As in 2007, we have tried to identify the movers and shakers who are the most powerful forces for change in the country. This year the Satyam scandal and the financial crisis have put the spotlight on India's regulators—and Chandrasekhar Bhaskar Bhave, chairman of the Securities & Exchange Board of India, has taken the lead role in promoting more transparency among India's top companies. To restore confidence in the wake of the Satyam revelations, for instance, he helped push through new rules forcing companies to divulge details of the shares they had pledged to lenders.

Political Prowess

With the country gripped by election fever, we've named politicians likely to have the most impact in determining the next government. They include Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the former International Monetary Fund economist who surprised many people by successfully pushing through Parliament the controversial nuclear agreement with the U.S. last year. The list also includes Congress Party leader Sonia Gandhi, who is now preparing the ground for her son and heir to the Nehru dynasty, Rahul Gandhi, to play a larger role in politics.

Among the other politicians on this year's list, probably no one is more controversial than the chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi. For many people in India and around the world, Modi will forever be tied to the communal riots in his state in 2002 that left thousands of Muslims dead. His many critics blame Modi for allowing the killings to take place, a charge he denies. The controversy has spread to the U.S., where activists organized last year to lobby the State Dept. to deny Modi a visa, but the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician is well-regarded by many in the business community. Last year, when Tata Motors (TTM) encountered protests at the site of a factory in West Bengal and needed a new location, the company found a welcome reception from Modi's Gujarat government.