HR Khan
- HR Khan has been appointed as the first chairman of the steering committee of the Code for Responsible Lending (CRL) in micro-credit.
- He is the former deputy governor of RBI.
- CRL is a self-regulatory step for the micro-credit industry making diverse entities like banks, NBFC-MFIs and NBFCs adhere to standards of customer protection.
A S Lakshminarayanan
- Amur Swaminathan Lakshminarayanan has been appointed as the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) by the Board of Tata Communications (Tata Comm).
- He has been appointed for a term of 5 years.
Uddhav Thackeray
- Shiv Sena Chief and Maha Vikas Aghadi nominee Uddhav Thackeray became the 19th Chief Minister of Maharashtra.
- He was named as the leader of the Shiv Sena-NCP-Congress alliance called the ‘Maha Vikas Aghadi’.
Bipin Rawat
- General Bipin Rawat will become the first Chief of the Defence Staff.
- Chief of Defence Staff is a four-star position being created as part of a defence management overhaul.
- He will end his tenure as the Army Chief in December 2019.
G Satheesh Reddy
- G Satheesh Reddy, Secretary Department of Defence R&D and Chairman DRDO, has been conferred the Honorary Fellowship of the Society for the year 2019 by the Royal Aeronautical Society (RAeS) London.
- He is the first Indian recipient of this prestigious award in over 100 years.
Manisha Kulshreshtha
- Novel writer Manisha Kulshreshtha has been awarded the 28th Bihari Puraskar for 2018.
- She has been awarded for her novel ‘Swapnapash’.
- She hails from Rajasthan.
- The award is presented by the KK Birla Foundation and is for writers of Rajasthani origin.
Neha Dixit
- Indian journalist Neha Dixit has been awarded with the International Press Freedom Award.
- Others journalists, who have been honored with this award are Lucía Pineda Ubau and Miguel Mora from Nicaragua, Maxence Melo Mubyazi from Tanzania, Patrícia Campos Mello from Brazil, Zafar Abbas from Pakistan.
- This award is awarded by Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), a non-profit organization whose aim is to enable journalists to work without the fear of reprisal.
Suresh Krishna
- Suresh Krishna has been awarded with India’s first ‘Quality Ratna’ award.
- He is the Chairman of Sundram Fasteners Ltd.
- This award was awarded by trade body Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Institute of Quality.
Billie Eilish
- Singer Billie Eilish will be honoured as Billboard’s 2019 Woman of the Year.
- Billie Eilish is an American singer and songwriter.
Suman Billa
- Kerala cadre senior IAS officer Suman Billa will join the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO).
- Headquarters of UNWTO are in in Madrid, Spain.
- He will take charge next week as Director, Technical Cooperation and Silk Road Development at the D1 level at UNWTO.
Eliud Kipchoge
- Eliud Kipchoge won the World Athlete of the Year award.
- He is the first man to run a marathon in less than two hours.
Dalilah Muhammad
- 400 metres hurdles world champion Dalilah Muhammad won the World Athlete of the Year award.
- She is an American track and field athlete.
Greta Thunberg
- Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg has been awarded an international children’s peace prize.
- She has been awarded for her work in the struggle against climate change which has resonated with schoolchildren across the world.
- The award ceremony was organized by the Dutch Kids Right Organization.
Chitahresh Natesan
- Chitahresh Natesan became the first Indian to win ‘Mr. Universe (Pro) 2019’ in 90kg category at the 11th World Bodybuilding and Physique Sports Championship(WBPF) in South Korea.
- He is the former hockey player who turned bodybuilder.
- He is also known as the ‘Indian Monster’ by bodybuilding circles.
Lieutenant Shivangi
- The first woman pilot, Lieutenant Shivangi, will join naval operations on completion of operational training.
- She hails from Muzzafarpur, Bihar.
Satya Nadella
- Microsoft’s India-born Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella has topped in Fortune’s Businessperson of the Year 2019 list.
- The list also includes Mastercard CEO Ajay Banga and Arista head Jayshree Ullal.
- Ajay Banga has been ranked 8th.
Sir David Attenborough
- Naturalist Sir David Attenborough will be conferred with the Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development for 2019.
- He has been awarded for his tireless work to preserve and protect biodiversity.
- This award has been named after former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and has been accorded annually by Indira Gandhi Trust since 1986.
Virat Kohli
- Indian captain Virat Kohli has been named People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India’s ‘Person of the Year for 2019’ for his animal advocacy efforts.
- The PETA awards are given to people or organisations that take initiative in the welfare of animals and violence against animals.
Bajrang Punia
- Indian wrestler Bajrang Punia has been conferred with the Indian Personality of the Year Award (Sports) at the Indo Arab Leaders Summit & Awards 2019.
- The event was held in Dubai.
Sudhir Mital
- Sudhir Mital has been elected as president of the Gymnastics Federation of India (GFI).
- He is the former chairman of Competition Commission of India and has also worked as the former president and worked as GFI chief from 2003 to 2007.
Lt Col Jyoti Sharma
- Lieutenant Colonel Jyoti Sharma has been appointed as Indian Army’s first female Judge Advocate General officer to be deployed on a foreign mission.
- She will serve as a legal expert in the government of Seychelles & would give her opinion about defence and military act.
Justice SA Bobde
- Justice Sharad Arvind Bobde took oath as the 47th Chief Justice of India.
- He has succeeded Justice Ranjan Gogoi.
- He will have tenure of around 18 months.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa
- Gotabaya Rajapaksa became the new president of Sri Lanka.
- He is the former Defence Secretary of the country.
- He is the brother of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
Sridevi and Rekha
- The veteran actors Sridevi and Rekha have been conferred with the Akkineni Nageswara Rao National Award for 2018 and 2019 respectively.
- The award is instituted by the Akkineni International Foundation.
Rezwana Choudhury Bannya
- Renowned Rabindra Sangeet exponent Rezwana Choudhury Bannya has conferred the ICCR distinguished alumni award in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
- He is from Bangladesh.
Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan
- Justice Dr Ravi Ranjan took oath as the Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court.
- Justice Ranjan has been appointed as the 13th Chief Justice of the Jharkhand High Court.
Arsene Wenger
- Veteran coach Arsene Wenger has been named FIFA’s Chief of global football development.
- Wenger will also be the chairman of the FIFA Technical Study Group, which analyses international tournaments.
Nilam Sawhney
- Senior IAS officer Nilam Sawhney has been appointed as the Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.
- She has become the first woman Chief Secretary of Andhra Pradesh.
Ravi Prakash
- Indian PhD scholar Ravi Prakash has won the BRICS-Young Innovator Prize.
- He has been awarded for inventing an affordable indigenous milk chilling unit for smaller and marginal rural dairy farmers.
Robert De Niro
- Hollywood veteran and double Oscar winner Robert De Niro will be awarded with the SAG-AFTRA’s highest tribute: the SAG Life Achievement Award.
- The SAG Life Achievement Award is given annually to an actor who fosters the “finest ideals of the acting profession”.
Lt. Cdr. Karabi Gogoi
- Lt. Cdr. Karabi Gogoi has been posted as the Assistant Naval Attache at the Indian embassy in Moscow.
- She will become the first woman officer from the Indian Navy to be posted as a Defence Attache at an Indian mission abroad.
Jair Bolsonaro
- Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro will be the chief guest at Republic Day 2020 celebrations.
Kamala Vardhana Rao
- G Kamala Vardhana Rao has been appointed as the new Chairman and Managing Director of India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC).
- He is an IAS officer 1990 batch from Kerala Cadre.
Nils Andersen
- Unilever named non-executive director Nils Andersen as its new chairman.
- Unilever is a British-Dutch consumer goods company.
Prakash Javadekar
- Prakash Javadekar took charge as the Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises.
- Javadekar also holds information & broadcasting, and environment, forest and climate change portfolios.
Nita Ambani
- Nita Ambani has been named an honorary trustee of “The Metropolitan Museum of Art”.
- She is the Chairperson of the Reliance Foundation.
Pravind Jugnauth
- Pravind Jugnauth is sworn in as the Prime Minister of Mauritius.
- He has been appointed for a term of 5 years.
Mohammad Imran
- Mohammad Imran has been appointed as the new High Commissioner of Bangladesh to India.
- At present, he is Bangladesh’s Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.
K. Ullas Karanth
- Wildlife biologist K. Ullas Karanth has been awarded with the George Schaller Lifetime Award in Wildlife Conservation Science.
- He has been awarded for his contribution to the field of conservation.
- He is the Director of Centre for Wildlife Studies, Bengaluru.
Anjani Kumar
- The Ministry of external affairs (MEA) appointed Anjani Kumar as the next ambassador of India to the Republic of Mali.
Shanta Gokhale
- Writer, translator and film critic Shanta Gokhale has been awarded the Tata Literature Live! Lifetime Achievement Award for 2019.
Sanjay Gupta
- Google India has appointed Sanjay Gupta as its new country manager and vice-president of sales and operations for India.
- He succeeds Rajan Anandan.
Kumar Mangalam Birla
- Kumar Mangalam Birla has been conferred the ABLF Global Asian Award.
- He has been awarded for “powerful individual whose business footprint and commitment to excellence have engaged international interest and attention”.
- He is the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group.
Arvind Singh
- Arvind Singh has been appointed as the chairman of the Airports Authority of India (AAI).
- He is a 1988-batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.
Dr Vinaya Shetty
- Dr Vinaya Shetty became the first Indian to be elected to the position of General Vice President (GVP), International Organisation Development Association (IODA) since its inception in 1986.
Abhishek Sarkar
- West Bengal based writer Abhishek Sarkar has won Gemcon Young Literature Award at Dhaka Lit-fest.
Gulab Kothari
- Gulab Kothari has been chosen for the prestigious Raja Ram Mohan Roy Award, presented by the Press Council of India.
- He is the chairman of the Rajasthan Patrika group.
- He has been awarded for his outstanding contribution towards journalism.
Sara Damnjanovic
- Sara Damnjanovic from Serbia has been crowned ‘Miss Asia Global 2019’.
- The 5th Edition of ‘Miss Asia Global Title 2019’ was organized at Gokulam Convention centre in Kochi, Kerala.
Aditya Mishra
- Senior IPS officer Aditya Mishra was appointed as the chairman of the Land Ports Authority of India (LPAI).
Sumant Kathpalia
- Suman Kathpalia has been appointed as the new Managing Director (MD) and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of IndusInd Bank.
Writer Anand
- Noted writer Anand has been selected for the 27th Ezhuthachan Puraskaram 2019.
- This award is given by Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award and the Government of Kerala.
Sudarsan Pattnaik
- International acclaimed Sand Artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has been selected for the prestigious Italian Golden Sand Art Award 2019.
- He belongs to Odisha.
Rajinikanth
- Superstar Rajinikanth will be honoured with a special Icon of Golden Jubilee Award at the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
- Indian actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui has been awarded the prestigious Golden Dragon Award at the Cardiff International Film Festival (CIFF) 2019 held in Wales, United Kingdom.
Mary Kom
- Indian boxer Mary Kom has been inducted into the 10-member sports ambassador group by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Boxing workforce to represent boxers ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
