(Image source from: livemint.com)

Finance Minister of India and the Minister of Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman has been named in the list of 100 most influential women driving the United Kingdom-India relationship forward alongside one of Britain’s senior-most Cabinet ministers Penny Mordaunt.

UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid released the ‘100 Most Influential in UK-India Relations: Celebrating Women’ list on Monday to mark India Day in the Houses of Parliament in London on Monday.

It credited Sitharaman as one of India's most "powerful women" who plays a "pivotal" role in the bilateral relationship as India's current finance minister and former defense minister.

"Having studied at the London School of Economics (LSE) and worked in the UK in her previous career, Nirmala is familiar with the UK more so than probably all her other colleagues," notes the power list, released by UK-based media house India Inc.

Britain’s Secretary of State for Defence Penny Mordaunt is another senior politician in the list who is credited as the first woman to be assigned the role in the UK Cabinet.

"With India emerging as the world's largest importer of defense products, and a significant strategic partner for the UK, Penny plays a crucial role in the UK-India relationship," her citation notes.

The Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanashyam, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, who is herself honored in the list, welcomed the compilation as a recognition of the "front and center role" played by women in the bilateral relationship.

"This list highlights the huge potential for the future of the UK and India as they continue to forge on together as two great countries. From business to politics, and art and literacy, women are continuing to pave the way in bringing together this bold partnership through collaboration and relationships," she said.

The women in the list, released for a third consecutive year, hold positions of influence in the UK and India across 11 broad sectors including technology, politics, and sustainability.

The list also includes some of the other eminent names like Indian origin parliament members in the UK like Baroness Sandy Verma and Priti Patel, filmmaker Gurinder Chadha, Indian law firm chiefs Pallavi S Shroff and Zia Mody, NASSCOM President Debjani Ghosh, and Apollo Hospitals' managing director Suneeta Reddy.

"The women highlighted in this list hold positions of tremendous influence and therefore their inclusion here is as much about the promise they bring, as the success they may have already achieved," said Manoj Ladwa, Founder of India Inc.

The release of the list likewise marked the start of UK-India Week in Britain, which will comprise a series of sessions on investment and trade and closer cooperation between the India and UK through the course of the week.

-Sangam Sowmya