Forbes names SBI chief as 30th most powerful woman in the world

Forbes has named State Bank of India Chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya in its annual 100 Most Powerful Women list, with a ranking of 30 in the world, a statement said here on Wednesday.

The Kolkata-born Bhattacharya, 59, has moved up six spots (from No.36) in the list from her ranking last year and is the SBI's first woman chairperson since October 2013.

As SBI chairperson, she oversees 220,000 staff in 16,000 branches which service 225 million customers as India's largest lender with offices in more than 36 countries.

Under her stewardship, the SBI with assets worth $400 billion, undertook various initiatives in technology banking such as sbiINTOUCH digital banking outlet, BI Tech Learning Centres for educating customers and SBI e-Pay, a payment aggregator service.

Recognising the multiple roles played by women, Bhattacharya has pioneered a two-year sabbatical policy for female employees taking maternity leave to extend care to their families.

The Forbes 12th annual list of the 100 most powerful women features extraordinary entrepreneurs, visionary CEOs, politicians, celebrities, activists and philanthropists who are transforming the world and have been ranked according to wealth, media presence and overall impact.