Current Affairs

Begum Khaleda Zia

Bangladeshs former Prime Minister Begum Khaleda Zia has died in Dhaka on 30 December 2025. She was 80. Zia is the chairperson of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP). She was born on August 15, 1946, in Dinajpur, then part of Indias East Bengal, now Northern Bangladesh.

Smriti Mandhana

Smriti Mandhana became the second Indian woman and the fourth player globally to score 10,000 runs in international cricket. The landmark achievement came during the fourth T20I against Sri Lanka at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on 28 December 2025.

Jayshree Ullal

Jayshree Ullal, president and CEO of Arista Networks has topped the Hurun Rich List for 2025. Ullal has emerged as the richest self-made woman entrepreneur in the list. She has a net worth of $5.7 billion, which is higher than that of Satya Nadella (Microsoft CEO) and Sundar Pichai (Google CEO).

Sairam

Coal India Limited (CIL) Chairman-cum-Managing Director B. Sairam was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the company.

Saleem Ahmad

Saleem Ahmad assumed charge as Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of Rail Vikas Nigam Limited (RVNL). He succeeded Sukhmal Chand Jain. Before this posting, Saleem Ahmad was working as director (projects) at NBCC (India).

MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar

The Union Government has appointed former Telugu Desam MP Kanakamedala Ravindra Kumar as an additional solicitor general (ASG) in the Supreme Court. He served as Rajya Sabha member as a Telugu Desam Party (TDP) nominee from 2018 to 2024.

Vinod Kumar Shukla

Eminent Hindi writer and Jnanpith Award winner Vinod Kumar Shukla passed away on 23 December 2025 at the age of 89. He was born on January 1, 1937, in Rajnandgaon, in present-day Chhattisgarh.

B P Kanungo

Former Reserve Bank of Indi (RBI) Deputy Governor B P Kanungo was appointed as the non-Executive Chairman of IIFL Finance. He is currently a non-executive independent director on the board of IIFL Finance Ltd.

Shashwat Sharma

Shashwat Sharma was appointed as Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Airtel India, effective January 1, 2026. He is currently the CEO-designate, will take over the top role for a five-year term, subject to shareholder approval.

President Barham Salih

Former Iraqi President Barham Salih was elected as the next head of the U.N. refugee agency, its first from the Middle East since the late 1970s. The United Nations General Assembly announced this on 19 December 2025.

Ashwini Kumar Tewari

The Central Government has re-appointed Ashwini Kumar Tewari as Managing Director in State Bank of India (SBI). It extends beyond his currently notified term, which ends on January 27, 2026.

B Sairam

B Sairam took over as Chairman-cum-Managing Director (CMD) of Coal India Limited (CIL). He succeeds Sanoj Kumar Jha, additional secretary in the ministry of coal, who had been holding interim charge as CIL chairman since November 1 following the superannuation of P M Prasad on October 31.

Ravi Ranjan

Ravi Ranjan was appointed as Managing Director (MD) of State Bank of India (SBI), with effect from 15 December 2025. The appointment was notified by the Department of Financial Services under the Ministry of Finance through a government notification.

Raj Kumar Goyal

President Droupadi Murmu administered the Oath of Office to Raj Kumar Goyal as the Chief Information Commissioner at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on 15 December 2025.

Sai Jadhav

The Indian Military Academy (IMA) in Dehradun has reached a remarkable milestone, as Sai Jadhav has become the first woman officer cadet to successfully complete training at the esteemed institution and join the Indian Army.

Raj Kumar Goyal

Former law secretary Raj Kumar Goyal was appointed as the head of the Central Information Commission (CIC) on 13 Dece,ber 2025, while eight others were chosen as information commissioners.

Dr Renuka Iyer

Dr Renuka Iyer was appointed as the Chief Medical Officer (CMO) of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN). Her appointment, effective from 26 February 2026.

Asim Munir

Field Marshal Asim Munir was appointed as Pakistans first Chief of Defence Forces for a period of five years. He will continue to hold the office of Chief of Army Staff simultaneously. Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari has approved his appointment on 5 December 2025.

Harmanpreet Kaur

Punjab National Bank (PNB) has appointed Indian Womens Cricket Captain and World Cup winner Harmanpreet Kaur as its female brand ambassador. The bank described the appointment as a significant point in its ongoing brand transformation efforts.

Dr Manali Kshirsagar

Dr Manali Kshirsagar took over as the first full-time woman Vice-Chancellor of the Rashtrasant Tukadoji Maharaj Nagpur University on 3 December 2025. She took charge from the acting Vice-Chancellor Dr Madhavi Chavare.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has assumed the chairship of the council of the International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA) for 2026.

Usha Janakiraman

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) appointed Usha Janakiraman as Executive Director (ED). Prior to being promoted as ED, Janakiraman was serving as Chief General Manager-in-charge, Department of Regulation, Central Office, Mumbai.