National & International Person In News

PERSONS IN NEWS

Diplomacy & Administration

Urjit Patel – IMF Executive Director
Dinesh K. Patnaik – High Commissioner to Canada
Radha Chauhan – Chairperson, Capacity Building Commission
Anish Dayal Singh – Deputy NSA
Akash Tripathi – MD, Solar Energy Corporation of India

Defence & Security

Pushpendra Singh – Vice-Chief of Army
Sanjay Vatsayan – Vice-Chief of Navy
Lt Gen Rajiv Ghai – Deputy Chief of Army Staff (Strategy)
Yashaswi Solankee – First woman Aide-de-Camp to President
Shailendra Nath Gupta – DG, Defence Estates

Politics & Governance

Amit Shah – Longest-serving Home Minister (surpassed L.K. Advani)
Amitabh Kant – Resigned as India’s G20 Sherpa

International Leaders

Inga Ruginiene – PM of Lithuania
Yulia Sviridenko – PM of Ukraine
Annalena Baerbock – President, UNGA 80th Session (first woman from Western Europe group)
Aliawati Longkumer – Ambassador to North Korea (embassy reopened Dec 2024)

Achievements & Recognition

Kabak Yano (Arunachal) – Scaled Mt. Elbrus, Europe’s highest peak
Manika Vishwakarma – Miss Universe India 2025 (to represent India at Miss Universe, Thailand)
Krishangi Meshram – Youngest solicitor, UK (Indian-origin)

Economy & Finance

Ravi Agarwal – Reappointed CBDT Chairman
R. Doraiswamy – MD & CEO, LIC
Kesavan Ramachandran – RBI Executive Director

OBITUARIES

National Figures

Maruti Chitampalli – Environmentalist, Padma Shri, ‘Aranya Rishi’ (died June 19, 2025 at 93)
Dilip Doshi – Former India spinner (1979–83), died at 77 in London
Satyapal Malik – Ex-Governor, J&K
Vece Paes – Ex-Hockey Olympian
S. Sudhakar Reddy – Communist leader
Bimalendra Mishra – Ram Mandir Trust member

International & Cultural Icons

V.S. Achuthanandan – Ex-CM (Kerala), CPI(M), Punnapra-Vayalar revolt
B. Saroja Devi – Actress
Fauja Singh – World’s oldest marathoner, 2012 London Olympics torchbearer
Muhammadu Buhari – Former President of Nigeria

NATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Political Leaders & Governance

Rekha Gupta (BJP) – 4th woman & 9th CM of Delhi (20 Feb 2025)
Vijender Gupta (BJP) – Speaker of Delhi Assembly
Hemant Soren – CM of Jharkhand (4th time)
Devendra Fadnavis – CM of Maharashtra (again)
Rajiv Gauba – Full-time Member, NITI Aayog

Judiciary

Justice Arun Palli – CJ of J&K & Ladakh HC
Justice Vipul M. Pancholi – 45th CJ of Patna HC (21 July 2025)
Justice B.R. Gavai – 52nd CJI (first Buddhist CJI)
Justice Surya Kant – Executive Chairman, NALSA
Justice K.V. Chandran – SC Judge
Justice Devendra Upadhyay – CJ, Delhi HC
Justice Ritu Bahri – First woman CJ, Uttarakhand HC

Defence, Police & Security

Sonali Mishra – First woman DG, RPF
Paramesh Sivamani – DG, Indian Coast Guard
Air Marshal Ashutosh Dixit – Chief of Integrated Defence Staff
Narmdeshwar Tiwari – Vice-Chief of Air Staff
N.S. Raja Subramani – Vice-Chief of Army Staff
Krishna Swaminathan – Vice-Chief of Navy
Sanjay Bhall – Chief of Personnel, Indian Navy
Dinesh Singh Rana – Commander-in-Chief, Andaman & Nicobar Command
Anurag Garg – DG, NCB
Parag Jain – RAW Chief
Alok Joshi – Chairman, NSAB

✔ First Women (Defence & Police)

Astha Poonia – First woman Navy Fighter Pilot
Sadhna Saxena – First woman DG Medical Service (Army)
Arti Sarin – First woman DG, Armed Forces Medical Services
Rashmi Shukla – Maharashtra’s first woman DGP
Suman Kumari – BSF’s first woman Sniper
Anju Rathi Rana – First woman Law Secretary of India
Yashaswi Solanki – India’s first ADC Officer to President

Finance, Economy & Regulatory Bodies

Tuhin Kanta Pandey – Chairman, SEBI
K. Sanjay Murthy – CAG of India
Dr. Punam Gupta – Deputy Governor, RBI
Sanjay Malhotra – 26th Governor, RBI
Manoj Panda – Member, 16th Finance Commission
T. Rabi Shankar – Deputy Governor, RBI & Member, 16th Finance Commission
Dinesh Maheshwari – Chairperson, 23rd Law Commission of India
S. Mahendra Dev – Chairman, EAC to PM
Rakesh Mohan – Part of Economic Advisory Panel, World Bank
Sivasubramanian Ramann – Chairperson, PFRDA
Dr. Mayank Sharma – CGDA
Dr. V. Anantha Nageswaran – Chief Economic Advisor
Manoj Mittal – CMD, SIDBI

INTERNATIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

Political Leaders

Ahn Gyu-back – First civilian Defence Minister of South Korea (in 64 years)
Zou Jiayi – Next AIIB President (from Jan 2026)
Sheikha Al Nowais (UAE) – First woman Secretary-General, UNWTO
Mark Carney – Canadian PM (Liberal Party)
Prabowo Subianto – Indonesian President; Chief Guest, India’s 76th Republic Day (26 Jan 2025)
Rigoberto Menchu Tum (Guatemala) – Gandhi Mandela Award 2020 (conferred 2024); Nobel Peace Prize 1992

International Organizations

Robert Francis Prevost (Pope Leo XIV) – 267th Pope (first from US)
Annalena Baerbock – President, 80th UNGA
Philemon Yang – President, 79th UNGA
Mark Rutte – NATO Secretary-General
Masato Kanda – ADB President
Dilma Rousseff – NDB President
David Salvagnini – NASA’s first Chief AI Officer
Kristalina Georgieva – IMF MD
Catherine Russell – UNICEF ED
Tedros Ghebreyesus – WHO DG
Sumathi Dharmavardhane – ICC Anti-Corruption Unit Chair

✔ First Women Appointments

Jennifer Simons – President of Suriname
Claudia Sheinbaum – President of Mexico
Kirsty Coventry – President, IOC (first woman & African)
Shirley Botchwey – Secretary-General, Commonwealth of Nations (first African woman)
Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah – President of Namibia
Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala – WTO DG (2nd term; first woman & African)
Fatemah Mohajerani – Iran’s first woman spokesperson

Persons of Indian Origin in Global Roles

Suhas Subramanyam – First Indian-American Congressman, Virginia
Justice Madan Lokur – Chair, UN International Justice Council
Sukanya Sonowal – Commonwealth Youth Peace Ambassador (IIT Guwahati)
Harvansh Chawla – Chairman, BRICS CCI
Amitabh Kant – Senior Adviser, Fairfax Financial Holdings (Canada)
Srinivas Mukkamala – First Indian-origin President, AMA
Manish Singhal – Secretary General, ASSOCHAM
Kamal Kishore – UN Disaster Risk Reduction Representative
Anita Anand – Canada’s first Hindu woman Foreign Minister
Sriram Krishnan – Senior Policy Adviser, White House AI Policy
Jagajit Pavadia – Member, INCB
Sunita Williams – Commander, ISS
Ashish Khanna – DG, ISA
Apurva Chandra – Chair, Committee A, 77th WHA
Shambhu Kumaran – Chair, 68th UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs
Parvathaneni Harish – India’s PR to UN, New York
Lisa Nandy – UK Secretary of State for Culture, Media & Sport
Geeta Sabharwal – UN Resident Coordinator, Indonesia
Geeta Batra – Director, World Bank Independent Assessment

NEW BRAND AMBASSADORS

Katrina Kaif – Maldives Global Tourism
Dia Mirza – Indian Wildlife Trust
Kriti Sanon – Dreame Technology (first Indian ambassador)
Shraddha Kapoor – Eureka Forbes (vacuum cleaners)
Hina Khan – Korea Tourism
Deepika Padukone – Bisleri
Kareena Kapoor – UNICEF “For Every Child” Campaign
Kangana Ranaut – 2025 World Para Athletics Championships
Vidya Balan – Federal Bank (first ever ambassador)
Ayushmann Khurrana – Fit India Icon; FICCI Frames 25th Anniversary
Amitabh Bachchan – India Gate Basmati Rice
Narendra Kumar Yadav – Fit India Movement Ambassador
Salman Khan – 2025 Kho-Kho World Cup
PV Sindhu – Puma India + Tobacco Control + Better Nutrition
Rashmika Mandana – I4C (Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre)
Manu Bhakar – Ministry of Ports, Shipping & Waterways + Beti Bachao Beti Padhao (Haryana)
Smriti Mandhana – Wrangler Denim + Herbalife Nutrition India
Pankaj Tripathi – Madhya Pradesh Tourism + Hyundai India
Neeraj Chopra – Audi India + Switzerland Tourism (Friendship Ambassador)
Sourav Ganguly – Tripura Tourism
Anil Kumble – Karnataka Forest Department
Shikhar Dhawan – MotoGP India
Sonu Sood – Thailand Tourism
Virat Kohli – Punjab National Bank (PNB)
MS Dhoni – SBI + Reliance Jiomart + Dettol + Citroen
Jasprit Bumrah & Kartik Aryan – Skechers
Yuvraj, Gayle, Shahid Afridi & Usain Bolt – T20 World Cup

Key Appointments & Endorsements (2024–25)

Ravi Sinha – New RAW Chief
Alok Sharma – CBDT Chairman
MS Dhoni – Lay's, JioCinema (endorsements)
Ranveer Singh – Brand Ambassador, UAE Tourism
PV Sindhu – Stayfree
Kriti Sanon – Lenskart