Ashok Patnaik: He has been appointed as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID). The NATGRID is a centralised agency which stores sensitive personal information on citizens from almost two dozen agencies to be made available for counter-terror investigations.
Banwarilal Purohit: He has been appointed as Governor of Assam.
Bardish Chagger: Indian-origin MP, she became Canada’s first female Leader of the Government in the House of Commons.
Dipika Karmakar: The Tripura-girl is India’s first woman gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. She scripted history as she became the first Indian to make the cut for the individual vault finals in her debut Olympic Games at Rio.
Jagdish Mukhi: He has been appointed as the Lieutenant Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
Kartik Sawhney and Neha Swain: They have won the Queen’s Young Leaders Award 2016, that honours people from Commonwealth nations for their exemplary work. While Sawhney founded Project STEMAccess for universal access to education, Swain founded an NGO to provide an inclusive space to people from all backgrounds.
Leander Paes: He is the only tennis player in the world and the first Indian to make a seventh appearance at the Olympics. He had won the bronze medal for India in singles tennis at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Mahasweta Devi: Eminent Bengali writer and social activist, she died on 28 July 2016, at age 90. She was a recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award, Padma Vibhushan, Jnanpith and Magsaysay Award, among several others. Her notable works include Hajar Chaurashir Maa, Breast Stories and Tin Korir Sadh. She was also known for her contribution towards the welfare of tribal people.
Manohar Aich: First person from independent India to win Mr Universe, he died on 5 June 2016, at age 102. He had won three gold medals in bodybuilding at the Asian Games, and was nicknamed “Pocket Hercules” as his height was four feet 11 inches.
Michel Temer: He has taken-over as President of Brazil following the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff by the Brazilian Senate.
Muhammad Ali: Boxing legend, he passed away aged 74 on 3 June 2016 after a 32-year-long battle with Parkinson’s disease.
Najma Heptulla: She has been appointed as Governor of Manipur.
Nasser Hussain: Former England captain, he has set a Guinness World Record for the highest catch of a cricket ball. The 48-year-old caught the cricket ball that was dropped using a drone from a height of 150 feet in windy conditions at the Lord’s stadium. The ball reached an approximate speed of 119 km/h before landing safely in the cricketer’s hands.
Pema Khandu: He has been elected as Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh.
Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda: Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist Centre) Chairman, he was elected as the 39th Prime Minister of Nepal.
Radhika Menon, Captain: She became the first ever woman in the world to receive the Award for Exceptional Bravery at Sea from the International Maritime Organisation, for saving the lives of seven fishermen. She is also the first woman captain of the Indian Merchant Navy.
Rodrigo Duterte: He has been elected as the 16th President of the Philippines.
Shital Mahajan: Indian sky-diver, she is the first woman in the world to execute a sky fall from both North and South Poles. She executed the sky-dive from the North Pole in 2004, and from the South Pole in 2006. The 34-year-old has five world records, 14 national records and over 650 jumps to her credit.
Sulabha Deshpande: Veteran film, theatre and television actress she passed away on 4 June 2016, at the age of 79. She was considered among those spearheading the experimental theatre movement in the 1970s.
Syed Haider Raza: Modern Indian artist, he passed away aged 94 on 23 July 2016, following prolonged illness. An internationally acclaimed painter, he was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1981 and was elected a Fellow of the Lalit Kala Academy in 1983. He had also been conferred with France’s highest civilian honour, the Commandeur de la Legion d’Honneur (Legion of Honour), in 2015.
Theresa May: She has been elected as Britain’s Prime Minister following resignation of Mr David Cameron. She is the second woman after Margaret Thatcher to become Britain’s Prime Minister.
Umesh Sachdev: A 30-year-old Indian entrepreneur, he has featured in TIME Magazine’s 2016 list of ‘10 millennials who are changing the world’. His Chennai-based start-up Uniphore makes software that allows people to interact with their phones and access services like e-banking in their native languages.
Urjit Ravindra Patel: He has been appointed as the 24th Governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Vijay Rupani: He has been elected as the Chief Minister of Gujarat.
V.P. Singh Badnore: Former BJP MP from Rajasthan, he has been appointed as the Governor Punjab and Administrator of Union Territory of Chandigarh.