PM Narendra Modi is ninth most powerful person in Forbes list.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the ninth most powerful man in the world, according to Forbes magazine. Last year, he was ranked 15th in the list.

In the list released for 2015 by Forbes, Russian President Vladimir Putin is ranked one once again, while German chancellor Angela Merkel jumps three spots since last year and is second. US President Barack Obama though has slipped a place and is third while Modi has broken into the top-10 of a list that is mostly dominated by heads of states.

The other political figures in the list are Chinese premier Xi Jinping (5th) and British PM David Cameron (8th). Among others, Pope Francis is the fourth most powerful while Microsoft's Bill Gates is ranked sixth.