Kathmandu Mayor Balendra Shah has been listed as one of the 2023 TIME100 Next emerging leaders shaping the world.

The renowned magazine’s this year’s list has included Shah along with other rising leaders in health, climate, business, sports, the arts, who are engineering new solutions to society’s most pressing problems.

The magazine that has been traditionally listing Person of the Year and TIME100, launched the TIME100 Next in 2019 as part of their effort to evolve how TIME tells stories.

The magazine, in a short bio introducing Shah, has mentioned that the 33-year-old, who has a master’s degree in structural engineering, ran as an independent and used TikTok, Twitter, and Instagram to harness voter anger over the status quo—sparking a “Balen effect” that saw as many as 385 independent candidates triumph over veteran politicians.

Shah had garnered 61,767 votes to beat his closest rival by 23,426 votes in the local level polls held on May 13 last year.

“In a city still reeling from a deadly 2015 earthquake, Shah’s campaign promises were simple but offered desperately needed fixes: better waste disposal and sanitation, safe drinking water, clean roads, and the preservation of cultural heritage alongside urban development,” reads the magazine's bio on Shah.

The Time has also pointed out that Shah's efforts to make good on the election promises have been met with scrutiny, including in regard to their impact on the city’s poor and their reliance on demolishing buildings deemed illegal.

The magazine has also mentioned of Shah signing agreements to utilize landfill sites and his announced plans to separate and dispose of nondegradable waste.

The TIME100 Next list also includes astronaut Victor Glover, who has been named to the four-person crew of Artemis II, which will fly around the far side of the moon late next year. He will be the first person of colour to make a lunar journey.

Likewise, the list also includes Roberta Metsola, the youngest-ever president of the European Parliament; environmental justice advocate EPA Administrator Michael Regan; Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf, the first South Asian leader of Scotland and the first Muslim leader of Western democracy; First Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko; Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur; among others.

The magazine is slated to hold an event for those listed in the TIME100 Next in New York City in October.