Hu tops list of world's most powerful person; Sonia ranks 9th

Jintao has been described by the magazine as a person who "unlike Western counterparts, can divert rivers, build cities, jail dissidents and censor internet without meddling from pesky bureaucrats, courts."

US President Barack Obama, who last year topped the list, has been placed behind Hu at second while Saudi King Abdullah stands third most powerful man in the world.

Sonia Gandhi, at ninth place, has been described as a person who wields unequaled influence over 1.2 billion Indians and "after being elected as Congress President for the record fourth term she has cemented her status as true heiress to the Nehru-Gandhi political dynasty."

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has been ranked 18th among the world's top 20 powerful people.

Forbes has described Singh as 'Soft-spoken Oxford-trained economist credited with transforming India's quasi-socialist economy into world's second-fastest growing'.

The other Indian who have made to the list include Reliance Industries CMD Mukesh Ambani and NRI industrialist Lakshmi Mittal who are ranked 34th and 44th respectively.

Pakistan's Army Chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani has been placed at 29th in the list, while
Osama Bin Laden is at 57th and India's most wanted Dawood Ibrahim is at 63th spot.

Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin holds the fourth place and Pope Benedict XVI has been placed fifth, while German Chancellor is at sixth place, British Prime Minister David Cameron at seventh and Chairman of US Federal Reserve Ben Bernanke is at eight place in the list.