By The Sampadak Express
In a surprising turn, TIME Magazine’s prestigious 100 Most Influential People of 2025 list has no Indian nationals among this year’s honorees—despite past representation from the country. The annual list, which celebrates global changemakers across categories such as Leaders, Icons, and Titans, had included Bollywood star Alia Bhatt and Olympic wrestler Sakshi Malik in 2024.
While no India-based individuals were featured this year, Indian-origin scientist and CEO Reshma Kewalramani made it to the Leaders category. The CEO of Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Kewalramani moved to the U.S. from India at age 11 and later became the first woman to lead a major U.S. biotech firm.
Kewalramani was lauded for her groundbreaking leadership at Vertex, where she spearheaded the development of the first FDA-approved CRISPR-based therapy—a revolutionary treatment for sickle cell disease that corrects DNA mutations.
Author Jason Kelly, who profiled her for TIME, praised her visionary thinking:
> “Reshma sat on my board at Ginkgo Bioworks, and her insights proved invaluable. She knows how to push the limits of science while navigating complex drug-approval processes… Our best future drugs will use DNA to talk directly to our bodies, and Reshma is the kind of leader who can deliver that future.”
Other notable figures in this year’s Leaders list include UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, U.S. Vice President JD Vance, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Muhammad Yunus.
