Most Powerful Indians in 2012

15. Ratan Tata, 74, Chairman, Tata Group:

This year will be the last for Ratan Tata as head of India’s largest industrial conglomerate but he leaves behind an enviable legacy. Tata Sons boasts of a total revenue of $83.3 billion (around Rs 3,79,675 cr) in 2010-11, with 58 percent of this coming from business outside the country. His restoration of Jaguar and Land Rover is a major talking point in global industrial circles. In spite of intense media speculation and scrutiny, the selection of Cyrus Mistry as his heir recently was surprisingly smooth and widely welcomed. What added to the corporate credibility was that Mistry was chosen over Noel, Ratan's own half-brother.

16. S H Kapadia, 64, Chief Justice of India:

As the Chief Justice of India, his court presided over a stream of lawsuit that embarrassed the government, from the 2G scam to the age row of Army Chief Gen VK Singh. He led the judiciary through a particularly tough year of corruption scandals. He is a self-confessed hermit who prefers studying his cases for the next day to attending social functions. His hold of tax law is legendary. His verdict in the Vodafone tax case stated that FDI inflow depends on good governance and that the Indian IT department had no jurisdiction to tax the $11.076-billion Vodafone-Hutchison offshore deal. It said sureness in tax laws was an essential factor in increasing FDI into India.