Shailesh Jejurikar

♦ India-born Shailesh Jejurikar was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Procter & Gamble (P&G).

♦ Currently, Jejurikar is P&G's Chief Operating Officer (COO), will replace Jon Moeller as CEO from January 1, 2026.

♦ Jejurikar joined P&G in 1989 as an assistant brand manager after graduating in 1989 from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow.

♦ With this appointment, Jejurikar joins a growing club of Indian-origin leaders heading some of the world's largest companies.

♦ The club includes Microsoft's Satya Nadella, Alphabet and Google's Sundar Pichai, Adobe's Shantanu Narayen, IBM's Arvind Krishna, and Apple's newly named COO, Sabih Khan.

Meghnad Desai

♦ Renowned British Indian economist and House of Lords peer, Meghnad Desai, died on 29 July 2025 at the age of 85.

♦ Born in Vadodara in 1940, Desai completed his PhD in economics from the University of Pennsylvania in 1963.

♦ Desai served as emeritus professor of economics at the London School of Economics, teaching there from 1965 to 2003.

♦ On April 30, 1991, he received the title Lord Desai of St Clement Danes.

♦ Desai was nominated to the House of Lords in 1991 as a Labour Party peer. He was also awarded the Padma Bhushan by the Indian government in 2008.

♦ He has written numerous books on economics as well as other subjects.

♦ His last work published in 2022 was titled 'The Poverty of Political Economy: How Economics Abandoned the Poor'.

♦ He also published a biography of film star Dilip Kumar titled 'Nehru's Hero: Dilip Kumar in the Life of India' in 2004.

Utpal Kumar Singh

♦ Lok Sabha Secretary-General Utpal Kumar Singh has been given the additional charge as the CEO of Sansad TV. He is a 1986 batch retired IAS officer of Uttarakhand cadre.

♦ He will replace Rajit Punhani, a 1991 IAS officer of Bihar cadre, who was appointed as the CEO of Sansad TV during former Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar’s chairmanship.

Uma Kanjilal

♦ Professor Uma Kanjilal was named the first female Vice Chancellor of Indira Gandhi National Open University (IGNOU), four decades after its inception, on 25 July 2025.

♦ She was previously the acting Vice Chancellor at IGNOU and had served as Pro Vice Chancellor from March 2021 to July 2024.

♦ Prof. Kanjilal started her career as a research assistant at IIT Kanpur in 1984.

♦ After this, she worked as a cataloguer and professional assistant at Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA). 

♦ Kanjilal has held several leadership positions at the university, including Director of the Centre for Online Education (2019–2021), Director of the Inter-University Consortium for Technology Enabled Flexible Education (2016–2019), Director of the Advanced Centre for Informatics and Innovative Learning (2012–2013), Director of the School of Social Sciences (2007–2010), and University Librarian (2004–2006).

Narendra Modi

♦ Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on 25 July 2025, completed 4,078 days in office, surpassing former Prime Minister late Indira Gandhi's record of 4,077 consecutive days as Prime Minister of the country from January 24, 1966, to March 24, 1977. 

♦ With this milestone, PM Modi becomes the second longest consecutively serving Prime Minister in India's history, behind only the country's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. 

♦ PM Modi is the first and only Prime Minister born after Independence, the longest-serving non-Congress PM, and the longest-serving Prime Minister from a non-Hindi-speaking state.

♦ PM Modi is the only Prime Minister, apart from late Jawaharlal Nehru, to win three consecutive elections as leader of a political party in India.

♦ He is the only leader in India, among all Prime Ministers and Chief Ministers, to win six consecutive elections as the leader of a party -- Gujarat (2002, 2007, 2012), Lok Sabha polls (2014, 2019, 2024).

Ajay Seth

♦ The Union Government on 24 July 2025 appointed former finance and economic affairs secretary Ajay Seth as Chairperson of the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI). 

♦ Seth was appointed IRDAI chairman for a period of three years or till he attains the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

♦ The top post at IRDAI, which is headquartered in Hyderabad, fell vacant after Debashish Panda’s departure in mid-March this year, after the completion of his term.

♦ A retired IAS officer of the 1987 batch from the Karnataka cadre, Seth retired as the finance secretary in June 2025.

Suhani Shah

♦ Suhani Shah became the first Indian woman to win at the elite FISM 2025 World Championship of Magic, also considered as the Oscars of Magic.

♦ She won the Best Magic Creator award, beating some of the best in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and the Middle East. 

♦ Organized by the Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques, FISM is the largest and most prestigious stage for magicians in the world.

♦ For the unversed there were 80,000 artists from around the globe represented by more than 110 magic societies.

♦ The competition honors superiority in creativity, performance, and innovation in the magical arts.

♦ Suhani Shah born on January 29, 1990, in Udaipur, Rajasthan. 

Anand Swaroop

♦ Senior Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Anand Swaroop was appointed as Director General (Investigation) at the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

♦ He is a 1992 batch Indian Police Service officer of the Uttar Pradesh cadre.

♦ Anand succeeded R Prasad Meena, who has held the post since December 7, 2024, and is scheduled to retire on July 31, 2025. 

♦ Anand’s tenure as Director General (Investigation) is set to begin on or after August 1, 2025, and will continue until his superannuation on August 31, 2029, or until further orders.

Deepak Bagla

♦ Deepak Bagla, the MD and CEO of Invest India assumed charge as the mission director of the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) under NITI Aayog.

♦ Bagla joins AIM with an extensive background spanning banking, investment promotion, policy advisory, and institutional leadership.

♦ Prior to this, Bagla was heading India’s national investment promotion and facilitation agency, Invest India. Under his leadership, Invest India emerged as a key institution supporting entrepreneurship, innovation, and startup growth across the country.

♦ The Atal Innovation Mission continues to play a central role in advancing the government’s mission on innovation and entrepreneurship. 

Gita Gopinath

♦ Gita Gopinath, the First Deputy Managing Director (FDMD) of the International Monetary Fund is set to leave the organisation towards August to rejoin the Harvard University.

♦ She joined the Fund as a Chief Economist in 2019, being the first woman to hold the position, and was later promoted to be the FDMD in 2022.

♦ Gopinath is an Indian-born US citizen.

♦ Prior to her appointment as IMF Chief Economist, she was the John Zwaanstra Professor of International Studies and Economics in the economics department of Harvard University.

♦ Before joining the faculty of Harvard University in 2005, she was an assistant professor of economics at the University of Chicago's Booth School of Business.

V.S. Achuthanandan

♦ Veteran Communist leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan passed away in Thiruvananthapuram on 21 July 2025.

♦ He was 101. He led the CPI(M)-led Left Democratic Front (LDF) to victory in the 2006 Assembly elections and served as Chief Minister from 2006 to 2011. 

♦ Achuthanandan was born on 20 October 1923, in Alappuzha district's Punnapra. 

♦ He was one of the last surviving member of the group that founded the Communist Party of India (Marxist) in 1964, following the vertical split in the undivided Communist Party.

Jagdeep Dhankhar

♦ Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar resigned from office on 21 July 2025.

♦ His resignation, addressed to President Droupadi Murmu, comes into effect immediately under Article 67(a) of the Constitution.

♦ Dhankhar’s resignation came on the first day of the Monsoon Session of Parliament. He also served as Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. 

♦ Jagdeep Dhankhar was elected as the Vice President of India in 2022.

♦ Ahead of his tenure as VP, Dhankhar served as the governor of West Bengal from 2019 to 2022.

♦ His term as VP was set to end in 2027.

Aditi Chauhan

♦ Indian women’s football player, Aditi Chauhan announced her retirement from the sport on 17 July 2025, bringing down the curtains on an illustrious career spanning 17 years.

♦ She holds the distinction of being the first-ever player from India to play club football in Europe.

♦ Aditi represented India 57 times and was part of three SAFF Women's Championship winning teams in 2012, 2016, and 2019.

♦ Her European journey included two seasons with West Ham before she returned to India in 2018. She later joined Gokulam Kerala FC, winning two Indian Women's League titles in 2019-20 and 2021-22.

R Doraiswamy

♦ R Doraiswamy has assumed charge as Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) with effect from 14 July 2025.  

♦ Doraiswamy has more than 38 years of experience in Operations, Marketing, Technology and Academics.

♦ Prior to taking charge as Managing Director, he has held various leadership positions within the Organisation.

Dr. Abhijat Sheth

♦ Dr. Abhijat Sheth was appointed as the new Chairperson of the National Medical Commission (NMC) on 14 July 2025.

♦ He succeeds Dr. B.N. Gangadhar, who stepped down due to health concerns. 

♦ Dr. Sheth is also the president of the National Board of Examinations in Sciences (NBEMS).

Appointed new Governors

♦ President of India Droupadi Murmu Appointed new Governors in Haryana and Goa and new Lieutenant Governor in Ladakh on 14 July 2025.

♦ Former Civil Aviation Minister Pusapati Ashok Gajapathi Raju was appointed as Governor of Goa while Prof. Ashim Kumar Ghosh will be the Governor of Haryana.

♦ Kavinder Gupta has been appointed as Lieutenant Governor of Ladakh. 

Four nominated to Rajya Sabha

♦ President Droupadi Murmu has nominated four individuals to the Rajya Sabha — eminent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, seasoned diplomat Harsh Vardhan Shringla, historian Dr Meenakshi Jain, and Kerala-based teacher and social worker C Sadanandan Master.

♦ The nominations have been made to fill vacancies created by the retirement of earlier nominated members.

♦ The President exercised her powers under Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution, which authorises her to nominate members who have special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.

♦ Among the nominees is Ujjwal Nikam, one of India's most prominent public prosecutors, renowned for his role as Special Public Prosecutor in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks trial and other high-profile criminal cases.

♦ Harsh Vardhan Shringla, a former Foreign Secretary, has held key diplomatic posts, including Ambassador to the United States, Bangladesh, and Thailand. He also served as Chief Coordinator for India's G20 Presidency in 2023.

♦ Kerala's C Sadanandan Master, a veteran teacher and social worker, has long been associated with the BJP.

♦ He contested the 2021 Kerala Assembly elections and is also known for surviving brutal political violence in 1994 when CPI(M) cadre allegedly attacked him and severed both his legs near his village of Perinchery.

♦ The list also included Dr Meenakshi Jain, a well-known historian and former Associate Professor of History at Gargi College, University of Delhi. Jain's work in the field of Indian history and her contributions to academia have been widely recognised.

Harikrishnan

♦ Harikrishnan became India’s 87th grandmaster and 32nd from Tamil Nadu on 13 July 2025.

♦ He secured his third and final GM norm at the La Plagne International Chess Festival in France.

♦ Harikrishnan drew with his countrymate P. Iniyan in the final round to finish fourth. 

♦ He got his first GM-norm in the Biel International Chess Festival in 2023 in Switzerland and his second norm in the Lince Andujar Chess Open in June this year in Spain.

Sonali Mishra

♦ Senior IPS officer Sonali Mishra was appointed as Director General of the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on 12 July 2025.

♦ She became the first woman to achieve this feat.

♦ She is a 1993 batch Indian Police Service (IPS) officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre.

♦ She will be in that position until her superannuation on October 31, 2026. 

♦ Sonali will take charge of the post from incumbent Manoj Yadava, who is due to superannuate on July 31. 

♦ The RPF was constituted by an Act of Parliament in 1957.

♦ The force could enquire, arrest and prosecute the offenders involved in unlawful possession of railway property in 1966.

♦ It was given the status of “an armed force of the Union” on September 20, 1985.

Govind Mohan

♦ The government has given the service extension to Home Secretary Govind Mohan till 22nd August 2026.

♦ He was scheduled to retire on 30th September 2025.

♦ The Appointment Committee of the Cabinet has approved the extension of the service of Mohan. 

♦ Mohan is a 1989 batch Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of the Sikkim cadre, was named the Union Home Secretary in August 2024.

♦ He took over the charge from Ajay Kumar Bhalla on completion of his tenure on 22 August 2024.

Sachin Tendulkar

♦ Sachin Tendulkar’s portrait was unveiled at the MCC Museum in Lord’s, London on 10 July 2025.

♦ The portrait, which has been painted by Stuart Pearson Wright from a photograph taken by the artist at his home 18 years ago, will remain in the MCC Museum until later this year and will then be relocated to the Pavilion.

♦ Pearson Wright has previously painted portraits of Kapil Dev, Bishan Singh Bedi, and Dilip Vengsarkar.

Priya Nair

♦ Priya Nair was appointed as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and Managing Director (MD) of Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on 10 July 2025.

♦ She will become the first woman CEO and MD of HUL, effective August 1, 2025. 

♦ She replaces Rohit Jawa, who will step down as CEO and MD on July 31, 2025.

♦ Mr Jawa took over as the CEO and MD of HUL in 2023.

♦ Nair, currently President, Beauty & Wellbeing, Unilever, has been appointed for a period of five years.

♦ Nair joined HUL in 1995 and held several sales and marketing roles across home care, beauty and wellbeing, and personal care businesses.

Sabih Khan

♦ An Indian American techie Sabih Khan was appointed as the new Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Apple Inc.

♦ He has been associated with the American tech behemoth for three decades, will succeed Jeff Williams as COO later this month.

♦ He's currently the Vice-President of the company.

♦ Sabih Khan was born in 1966 in Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh, and moved to Singapore at the age of 10.

♦ There, he enrolled at Tufts University and earned a bachelor's degree in economics and mechanical engineering.

♦ He later pursued a master's in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

♦ In 1995, he started working with Apple. 

Sahil Kini

♦ Sahil Kini was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Reserve Bank Innovation Hub (RBIH).

♦ He is the co-founder of Setu, a Bengaluru-based API FinTech that was among the fastest-growing players in the open API space before being acquired by Pine Labs in 2022.

♦ Setu enabled seamless integration between financial services and businesses through APIs across categories such as bills, payments, savings, and credit.

♦ Kini succeeds Rajesh Bansal, who completed his four-year term in April 2025.

♦ Bansal was the inaugural CEO of RBIH and was previously with the Reserve Bank of India.

♦ During his tenure, RBIH launched its flagship product, Frictionless Credit, which was showcased at the G20 summit.

♦ In his new role, Kini will have to drive innovation in the finance sector, build next-level leadership, shape organisational excellence, and focus on research and execution. 

Sanjog Gupta

♦ Indian broadcaster Sanjog Gupta was appointed as the new Chief Executive Officer of the International Cricket Council (ICC).

♦ He succeeded Australia’s Geoff Allardice.

♦ Gupta previously served as CEO of JioStar Sports.

♦ The ICC said it received more than 2,500 applications from 25 countries from which 12 candidates were shortlisted.

♦ The nominations were forwarded to the Nominations Committee comprising ICC deputy chairman Imran Khwaja, ECB chairman Richard Thompson, SLC president Shammi Silva and BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia.

♦ They recommended Gupta for the role.

♦ ICC chairman Jay Shah then approved the recommendation, which was ratified by the full ICC board.

Aastha Poonia

♦ Sub Lieutenant Aastha Poonia became the first woman fighter pilot of the Indian Navy.

♦ She was awarded the prestigious ‘Wings of Gold’ alongside Lieutenant Atul Kumar Dhull during the graduation ceremony of the Second Basic Hawk Conversion Course held at INS Dega, Visakhapatnam.

♦ The achievement comes amid increasing representation of women in the Indian Armed Forces.

Deepika Padukone

♦ Deepika Padukone became the first Indian actress to be selected for the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the class of 2026 in the Motion Pictures category.

♦ Deepika's name was announced during a live press conference held at Ovation Hollywood, alongside other popular names from the fields of music, film, television, live theatre, and sports entertainment.

♦ The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced this in the Motion Pictures category for the Class of 2026, placing her alongside stars like Emily Blunt, Timothée Chalamet, Rami Malek, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, and Demi Moore.

♦ The class includes 35 famous names, representing icons from all around the world, be it films, TV shows, the music world, Broadway or comedy.

♦ A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Deepika Padukone

♦ Deepika Padukone became the first Indian actress to be selected for the Hollywood Walk of Fame for the class of 2026 in the Motion Pictures category.

♦ Deepika's name was announced during a live press conference held at Ovation Hollywood, alongside other popular names from the fields of music, film, television, live theatre, and sports entertainment.

♦ The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced this in the Motion Pictures category for the Class of 2026, placing her alongside stars like Emily Blunt, Timothée Chalamet, Rami Malek, Rachel McAdams, Stanley Tucci, and Demi Moore.

♦ The class includes 35 famous names, representing icons from all around the world, be it films, TV shows, the music world, Broadway or comedy.

♦ A star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.