Vajpayee, Premji and Ash make it in Time's list!!

Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, IT bellwether Wipro chairman Azim Premji and film star Aishwarya Rai made it to the Time magazine list of the world's 100 most powerful and influential people.

Vajpayee shares the ranks with US President George W. Bush, Russian President Vladimir Putin, Chinese President Hu Jintao and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in the list to be released on Monday.

The list, which is categorised - leaders and revolutionaries, builders and titans and scientists and thinkers, heroes and icons and artists and entertainers - also includes the names of Al Qaida chief Osama bin Laden under the first category.

Each category has 20 names, said The Independent on Sunday, to which the list was available exclusively.

Yoga instructor B.K.S Iyengar, former South African president Nelson Mandela, Burmese pro-democracy leader Aung Sang Suu Kyi and Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama figure in the heroes and icons category.

Harry Potter series author J.K. Rowling and Hollywood actress Nicole Kidman find mention along with Aishwarya Rai in the artistes and entertainers category.

The builders and titans category lists Premji, along with media tycoon Rupert Murdoch.