Burra Venkatesham

♦ IAS officer Burra Venkatesham was appointed new Telangana Public Service Commission (TGPSC) chairman on 30 November 2024.

♦ The incumbent M. Mahender Reddy is set to retire on December 3, 2024 as he will complete 62 years. Reddy took charge of the post in January 2024 after an overhaul of the commission. 

♦ Currently, Venkatesham is the Principal Secretary of Education. He also holds the Full Additional Charge as the Principal Secretary to Governor Jishnu Dev Verma.

Jay Bhattacharya

♦ US President-elect Donald Trump named Indian-American Jay Bhattacharya to run the National Institutes of Health (NIH). This institute is the country’s top public funder of medical research with a budget of $47.3 billion. 

♦ The NIH director oversees 27 institutes and centers that conduct early stage research on everything from vaccines for emerging pandemic threats to targets for new drugs.

♦ Jay Bhattacharya was born in Kolkata in 1968. He graduated from Stanford University School of Medicine in 1997 and received his doctorate from Stanford’s Department of Economics in 2000.

♦ He currently serves as a professor of Health Policy at Stanford University and directs the university’s Center for Demography and Economics of Health and Aging.

John Alfred Tinniswood

♦ The oldest man in the world - John Alfred Tinniswood was died at the age of 112 in Southport, England on 25 November 2024.

♦ He was born on 21 August, 1912, the year of the sinking of the Titanic.  

♦ He was named the world’s oldest man by Guinness World Records in April 2024, following the death of Juan Vicente Pérez Mora, who passed at 114.

♦ During World War II, Mr Tinniswood served in the Royal Army Pay Corps, showcasing his dedication to his country. 

Max Verstappen

♦ Max Verstappen cruised to a fourth consecutive Formula 1 championship by finishing fifth in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

♦ He became just the sixth man in Formula One history to win four world championship titles. 

♦ Verstappen now joins the company of multiple champions Juan Manuel Fangio (five titles), Alain Prost (four), Michael Schumacher (seven), Sebastian Vettel (four) and Lewis Hamilton (seven), to etch his name in history.

K. Sanjay Murthy

♦ Senior IAS officer K. Sanjay Murthy assumed office as the Comptroller and Auditor General of India on 21 November 2024.

♦ President Droupadi Murmu administered the oath of office to Sanjay at Rashtrapati Bhavan. 

♦ Sanjay is a 1989-batch IAS officer of Himachal Pradesh cadre. He succeeded Girish Chandra Murmu, who demitted office on November 20. 

♦ Prior to this, Sanjay was Secretary in the Department of Higher Education of the Education Ministry. He has also served as Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, as Chief Executive Officer of National Industrial Corridor Development Corporation and as Joint Secretary in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

Upendra Dwivedi

♦ Chief of the Army Staff of the Indian Army General Upendra Dwivedi was honoured with the rank of Honorary General of the Nepal Army on 21 November 2024.

♦ President Ramchandra Paudel conferred upon Dwivedi the rank of Honorary General of the Nepal Army during a special ceremony at President House, Sheetal Niwas. 

♦ The Indian Army said, this practice reflects the mutual respect and enduring friendship between the two countries, particularly in the realms of military cooperation, defence collaboration, and shared strategic interests.

♦ Every three years, the Chief of the Indian Army is made an Honorary General of the Nepali Army, and vice versa.

♦ Both armies share similar values and a commitment to regional security, making this gesture of honour a reflection of their unity and shared purpose.

Rafael Nadal

♦ Spain’s tennis legend Rafael Nadal (38) has retired from professional tennis on 20 November 2024. Nadal was comfortably defeated 6-4, 6-4 by Botic van de Zandschulp (Netherlands) at the Davis Cup in Malaga. 

♦ Nadal is a 22-time Grand Slam singles champion. He won the French Open singles title a record 14 times. He is also a four-time US Open champion and won both the Australian Open and Wimbledon twice.

♦ Nadal has a total of 92 ATP singles titles to his name, including 36 Masters titles as well as an Olympic gold medal. , winning 112 of his 116 major matches at Roland Garros.

♦ He also holds the unique record of being one of three men in tennis history to complete the Career Golden Slam in singles. He won his last Roland Garros title in 2022 and left the Paris clay with a jaw-dropping 112-4 win-loss record.

♦ Nadal's two-decade career saw him lift 92 titles and accumulate over $135 million in prize money. His Grand Slam winning-journey began with his maiden French Open victory just days after turning 19 in 2005.

♦ A five-time year-end world number one, he remained in the ATP top 10 for an incredible 17 years, from 2005 until March 2024. During his peak years, he spent 209 weeks ranked as the world’s top player and won at least one title every year from 2004 to 2022.

Mithali Raj

♦ Former Indian women’s cricket captain, Mithali Raj was appointed as the Mentor of Women’s Cricket Operations by the Andhra Cricket Association (ACA).

♦ She has signed a three-year contract with the ACA. Her primary responsibility will be to scout and nurture young talent across the state, with a focus on developing the next generation of women cricketers.

♦ Mithali retired from international cricket in 2022.

Mallika Srinivasan

♦ The government has extended the tenure of Mallika Srinivasan as the head of the Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) by one year on 18 November 2024.

♦ It made an exception to rules to allow the private sector specialist to continue on the job beyond the cut-off age of 65 years. She is the Chairman and Managing Director of Tractors and Farm Equipment (TAFE) Limited. 

♦ Mallika was originally appointed as the chairperson of government headhunter PESB in April 2021 for a three-year tenure till April 8, 2024. In March 2024, the tenure was extended from April 9, 2024, to November 18 - the date she attained the age of 65 years.

♦ PESB is a non-statutory body that advises the government on appointments to the highest posts in Central Public Sector Enterprises. The board comprises a chairman and three members. The term of office for the chairperson and members is three years, or until they turn 65, whichever comes first.

Victoria Kjaer Theilvig (21)

♦ Victoria Kjaer Theilvig (21) of Denmark was crowned Miss Universe 2024 at the 73rd edition of the prestigious pageant in the Mexico City Arena. She is the first Danish woman to win this crown. Over 120 contestants from across the globe participated in this edition. Theilvig was crowned Miss Universe Denmark 2024 in September, two months before the global pageant.

♦ Miss Nigeria Chidimma Adetshina was named the first runner-up, while Miss Mexico Maria Fernanda Beltran secured the second runner-up position. 

Anurag Srivastava

♦ Anurag Srivastava was appointed as India's next high commissioner to Mauritius on 16 November 2024. He is a 1999-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) diplomat. 

♦ Anurag is currently serving as a joint secretary helming the Nepal-Bhutan division at the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He will succeed incumbent K Nandini Singla.

♦ Prior to his appointment as joint secretary in the Nepal-Bhutan division in March 2021, he served as the spokesperson in the MEA for nearly a year.

♦ Srivastava also served as India's ambassador to Ethiopia and the African Union from September 2016 to February 2020.

Karoline Leavitt (27)

♦ US President-elect Donald Trump named Karoline Leavitt (27) the White House press secretary on 16 November 2024. She becomes the youngest press secretary in White House history. Karoline worked most recently as Trump's campaign press secretary after serving in his first term as an assistant to four White House press secretaries. 

♦ Leavitt began her career in the Trump administration shortly after graduating in 2019, where she initially served as a presidential writer, and later as assistant press secretary.

Samantha Harvey

♦ British author Samantha Harvey clinched the 2024 Booker Prize for her novel Orbital on 13 November 2024. This is the first space-set book to claim the prestigious literary honour.

♦ The 136-page novel, Harvey’s fifth, unfolds over 24 hours as the astronauts experience 16 sunrises and sunsets, observing Earth’s vast beauty—from glaciers and deserts to mountains and oceans.

♦ Its brevity makes it the second-shortest Booker-winning novel, surpassed only by Penelope Fitzgerald’s Offshore (132 pages) in 1979.

♦ Harvey is the first woman to win the award since 2019, was honoured at a ceremony held in London’s historic Old Billingsgate. Alongside the recognition, she received £50,000 (Rs 5,450,000), which she plans to partially spend on a new bicycle.

Arvinder Singh Sahney

♦ Arvinder Singh Sahney was appointed Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of state-run Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IOCL) for a five-year term on 13 November 2024.

♦ He succeeded V. Satish Kumar. Currently, Arvinder Singh is the executive director of IOC (Business Development - Petrochemicals). 

♦ Arvinder joined IOC in 1993 following a brief stint at Tata Chemicals. He was appointed executive director of the company in February 2022.

Abhay S. Oka

♦ Supreme Court judge Justice Abhay S. Oka became part of the 5-member SC collegium on 11 November 2024. This collegium is now headed by Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna. 

♦ The reconstitution of five- and three-member collegium is a consequential event after the superannuation of former CJI D Y Chandrachud on November 10.

♦ Besides CJI Khanna, the five-member collegium, which selects apex court judges, would comprise Justices B R Gavai, Surya Kant, Hrishikesh Roy and A S Oka. 

♦ The three-member collegium, which selects high court judges, will have the CJI and Justices B R Gavai and Surya Kant as members. 

♦ The collegium system is a process for appointing and transferring judges in higher judiciary.

Sanjiv Khanna

♦ Justice Sanjiv Khanna was sworn in as the 51st Chief Justice of India on 11 November 2024. He was administered oath by President Droupadi Murmu at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Justice Khanna will serve a six-month tenure as Chief Justice of India and is expected to retire on May 13, 2025.

♦ Justice Sanjiv Khanna was part of several landmark Supreme Court judgments, including the scrapping of the electoral bonds scheme and upholding the abrogation of Article 370.

♦ His notable judgments also include upholding the use of electronic voting machines in elections.

♦ He was born on 14 May 1960. His father, Justice Dev Raj Khanna, was a former Delhi High Court judge, and his uncle, Justice HR Khanna, was a prominent former apex court judge.

♦ Justice Khanna enrolled as an advocate with the Bar Council of Delhi in 1983. He was elevated to the Supreme Court on January 18, 2019.

Incumbent president Tayyab Ikram

♦ Incumbent president Tayyab Ikram was re-elected for another term at the helm of the International Hockey Federation (FIH) at the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Muscat, Oman.

♦ The Pakistan-born Macau Ikram had taken over for a two-year period in 2022 following Narinder Batra’s resignation midway through his tenure.

♦ The current term will be his first full four-year term.

50th Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud

♦ 50th Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud was retired on 10 November 2024. He took over as the Chief Justice of India on November 9, 2022. Chandrachud served as a judge in the Supreme Court for 8 years, participating in 38 constitution benches. 
♦ His important verdictsa:
♦ Ayodhya Land Dispute (2019): Settled a century-old issue.
♦ Abrogation of Article 370 (2019): Revoked Jammu & Kashmir’s special status.
♦ Decriminalization of Gay Sex: Struck down Section 377 of IPC.
♦ Right to Privacy: Declared privacy a fundamental right.
♦ Living Will: Recognized passive euthanasia.
♦ Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP Act): Expanded abortion rights.

Managing Director Harsha Vardhan Agarwal

♦ Emami Limited Vice Chairman and Managing Director Harsha Vardhan Agarwal was elected as the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) president for 2024-25.

♦ He succeed Mahindra & Mahindra's Group CEO and Managing Director Dr Anish Shah.  

♦ FICCI operates through a network of committees focused on various industries, including manufacturing, healthcare, technology, infrastructure, and financial services.

♦ These committees work closely with industry stakeholders to identify issues, share knowledge, and provide recommendations that support sustainable economic growth.

Indian Mens Hockey Team captain Harmanpreet Singh

♦ Indian Men’s Hockey Team captain Harmanpreet Singh and former goalkeeper PR Sreejesh have won the FIH Player of the Year and Goalkeeper of the Year titles for the year 2024.

♦ Both Harmanpreet and Sreejesh received recognition during the 49th FIH Statutory Congress in Oman on 9 November 2024.

♦ Two-time Olympic bronze medallist Harmanpreet received over 63 percent of all votes cast in his category. Similarly, Sreejesh was highly popular among voters, polling over 62 percent of all votes in his category.

♦ The winners were selected through a voting process involving an expert panel, national hockey associations, fans, and media.

♦ Indian captain Harmanpreet Singh led the scoring charts at the Paris Olympics with 10 goals, including goals in the quarterfinal, semi-final and both goals in the bronze medal match against Spain, which India won 2-1 to secure their second consecutive podium finish at the Olympics.

♦ Double Olympic medallist Sreejesh, who quit the game after the Paris Olympics, prevailed over Netherlands' Pirmin Blaak, Luis Calzado of Spain, Jean-Paul Danneberg of Germany and Argentina's Tomas Santiago to win the top prize in goalkeepers category.

Pankaj Advani

♦ India’s Pankaj Advani has won the IBSF World Billiards Championship 150-up format title on 9 November 2024.

♦ He defeated England’s Robert Hall in the final clash of the tournament at Doha in Qatar. 

♦ This was Pankaj's 28th world title, seventh in a row.

♦ Advani’s winning streak had begun in 2016 and has also survived two years (2020, 2021) of vacuum created by the Covid-19 pandemic.

♦ Singapore's Peter Gilchrist and India's Sourav Kothari shared the joint bronze medal in championship.

Shiv Nadar

♦ HCL Technologies founder Shiv Nadar and family have topped the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024  for the third time in five years.

♦ They donated Rs.2,153 crore in the financial year 2023-24. According to the list, Shiv Nadar increased his contributions by 5% as compared to FY2022-23.

♦ The Shiv Nadar Foundation was established in 1994 and focuses on education, arts and culture. As per the report, Nadar donated Rs.5.9 crore every day. 

♦ Mukesh Ambani, the CMD of Reliance Industries, came in second with contributions of Rs.407 crore. The Bajaj family came in third with contributions of Rs.352 crore. 

♦ Here are the top 10 philanthropists featured in the EdelGive-Hurun India Philanthropy List 2024:

Arjun Erigaisi

♦ India’s Arjun Erigaisi has made history by climbing to No. 2 in the FIDE World Chess Rankings with 2805.8 points. He achieved this feat after his round 3 win over Aleksey Sarana at the Chennai Grand Masters on 7 November 2024. 

♦ Norway's Magnus Carlsen is ahead of Arjun at the moment with 2831.0 points in the ratings. USA’s Fabiano Caruana (2805.0 points), American GM Hikaru Nakamura (2802 points), and India’s Gukesh (2783.0 points) are ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively.

♦ Arjun became only the sixteenth player ever to cross 2800 Elo in live ratings last month (October 2024). 

Jalaj Saxena

♦ Jalaj Saxena became the first player to achieve the record of scoring 6000 runs and picking up 400 wickets in the Ranji Trophy.

♦ He achieved this feat during the fourth-round match between Kerala and Uttar Pradesh in Thiruvananthapuram on 6 November 2024.

♦ Saxena began his First-Class career in 2005, crossed the 6000-run mark in the previous round in Kolkata.

♦ He has scored 6795 runs in his first-class career at an average of 33.97, which includes 14 hundreds and 33 fifties. 

Maia Sandu

♦ Maia Sandu was re-elected as Moldova's President for the second term. The Moldovan Central Electoral Commission confirmed her victory on 4 November 2024.

♦ Sandu won 55% of the vote and her rival Alexandr Stoianoglo got 45% of the vote share. 

♦ Sandu was born on 24 May 1972. 

♦ Maia elected as the President of Moldova for the first time in 2020. She was Minister of Education from 2012-15 and member of the Parliament of Moldova from 2014-15 and again in 2019.

Kirti Vardhan Singh

♦ Minister of State for Environment, Kirti Vardhan Singh launched India’s updated National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP) at the 16th meeting of the Conference of Parties (COP 16) in Colombia.

♦ The minister emphasized the need to provide means of implementation, including financial resources for implementation of the National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan. 

♦ India has updated its National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan with its targets aligned with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, he informed while delivering the National Statement at COP16 at Cali.

♦ Singh also announced that India’s Ramsar sites have expanded from 26 to 85 since 2014 and will soon reach 100, a testament to India’s focus on wetlands conservation. 

♦ The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), adopted in 1992, aims to conserve biodiversity, promote its sustainable use, and ensure equitable sharing of genetic resource benefits.

♦ To fulfill these goals, the CBD requires each member country to develop a National Biodiversity Strategy and Action Plan (NBSAP), a tailored framework for protecting and managing biodiversity based on national priorities.

Praveena Rai

♦ Praveena Rai has assumed office as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Multi Commodity Exchange of India (MCX) for a five-year term.

♦ She succeeds P S Reddy, who completed his five-year tenure in May 2024. MCX is India's largest commodity derivatives exchange.

♦ Prior to joining MCX, Rai served as the CEO at National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), where she spearheaded marketing, business development, product management, and operations strategy.

S.G.K. Kishore

♦ S.G.K. Kishore was appointed as the new president of Airport Council International (ACI) Asia Pacific & Middle East (ACI APAC & MID) on 2 November 2024. He is the Executive Director and Chief Innovation Officer of GMR Airports.

♦ Kishore succeeds Emmanuel Menanteau, Board Director of Cambodia Airports/Regional Director, VINCI Airports. The new president will assume charge on 1 January 2025, for a two-year term. 

♦ As President, Mr. Kishore will be at the forefront of supporting and driving this growth. His leadership will focus on enhancing regional standards, fostering collaboration among members, and addressing challenges unique to this rapidly expanding aviation landscape. 

♦ ACI Asia-Pacific & Middle East (ACI APAC & MID) represents the interests of over 600 airports in 47 member countries/territories. The Asia-Pacific & Middle East region is projected to experience rapid growth in air travel, with passenger traffic estimated to grow from the current 3.4 billion to 9.7 billion by 2042—nearly half of global passenger traffic.

Rajesh Kumar Singh

♦ Rajesh Kumar Singh took over as Defence Secretary on 1 November 2024. He is a 1989-batch IAS officer from Kerala cadre. He took over from the incumbent Giridhar Aramane, a 1988-batch IAS officer of Andhra Pradesh cadre.

♦ Singh was holding the charge of Secretary, Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, Ministry of Commerce and Industry from April 24, 2023 to August 20, 2024. Prior to that, he held the post of Secretary, Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying, Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying.
 

Bibek Debroy

♦ Economist and Chairman of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic advisory council Bibek Debroy (69) died on 1 November 2024. He was appointed Chairman of PM-EAC on September 25, 2017, 
♦ He was earlier served as the chancellor of the Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics (GIPE) in Pune. Debroy was also a Member of NITI Aayog up to June 5, 2019.
♦ Debroy was awarded a Padma Shri in 2015 and the Lifetime Achievement Award by the US-India Business Summit in 2016.