The Newsmakers of 2025

From politics to business, culture and sport, icons who shaped conversations through the year

Dec 31, 2025, 16:14 IST4 min

1/15

In May, Banu Mushtaq won the International Booker Prize for Heart Lamp, marking the first time a Kannada work and a short-story collection received the honour. The win brought unprecedented national attention to regional-language literature, translation, and voices from India’s margins. Her stories, rooted in the lived realities of Muslim women and social inequities in southern India, sparked renewed debates on inclusivity, linguistic diversity, and whose stories shape India’s literary canon todayPhoto by Kate Green/Getty Images

2/15

Zohran Mamdani drew wide attention in India in 2025 after becoming the mayor-elect of New York City, the first Muslim and first South Asian to hold the office. Born to an Indian-origin family and the son of acclaimed filmmaker Mira Nair, his rise sparked interest not just politically but culturally, with frequent Bollywood and cinema references in Indian media. His progressive agenda on housing, workers’ rights and inclusion underscored how Indian-origin leaders are shaping global politics while influencing conversations on identity back homePhoto by Spencer Platt / Getty Images North America / Getty Images via AFP

3/15

Noel Tata, chairman of Trent and Tata Investment Corporation, the managing director of Tata International, and the vice chairman of Titan Company and Tata Steel at the Tata Moter event in Auto Expo 2023. 11th January, 2023 Greater Noida, India.

4/15

Indian Air Force Wing Commander Vyomika Singh (L) and Indian Army Colonel Sofiya Qureshi gesture after a press briefing, at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in New Delhi on May 10, 2025. India and Pakistan agreed on May 10 to a full and immediate ceasefire after days of deadly jet fighter, missile, drone and artillery attacks, the news surprisingly announced by US President Donald Trump, who congratulated them on using "common sense". Photo by Arun Sankar / AFP

5/15

Hired from KLM to expand IndiGo’s operations, Pieter Elbers faced a crisis that exposed cracks in planning at India’s biggest and only profitable airline, making 2025 the year his leadership—and IndiGo’s aura of invincibility—were put to the testPhoto by Amit Verma

6/15

In 2025, Peyush Bansal found himself in the eye of the storm when Lenskart went public at a Rs 70,000 crore valuation, drawing criticism over his purchase of shares months earlier at a far lower price. Yet, investors seem to believe in the growth story, with the company closing the year at a market cap of nearly Rs 80,000 crorePhoto by Amit Verma

7/15

Divya Deshmukh (right) kicked off the year of the world-beaters by becoming the first Indian to win the FIDE women's World Cup in July; para-archer Sheetal Devi (left) followed soon after, scripting history as a world champion and becoming the first woman armless archer to win the World Para Archery Championship--later, Devi also qualified for the able-bodied national team, finishing third among 60 archers at the trials; in a year dominated by women athletes, India Test and ODI captain Shubman Gill (centre) stood out as the most prolific international run-getter across formats and Tests, scoring seven centuries and three fiftiesPhoto credit: Divya Deshmukh: Frans Peeters/FIDE; Sheetal Devi: Madhu Kapparath; Shubman Gill: Mexy Xavier

8/15

(From top) The Indian women's cricket team, led by Harmanpreet Kaur (with the trophy), clinched the ICC Women's ODI World Cup in November, a triumph that evoked memories of the paradigm-shifting 1983 victory of the men's team; close on its heels, the Indian blind women's cricket team lifted the inaugural women's T20 World Cup for the BlindPhoto by: Ishara S. KODIKARA / AFP; Nikhil Patil/Getty Images

9/15

This was the year of a wave of tech IPOs as consumer internet companies, Urban Company made their public market debut. Quick commerce firm Zepto (right) is all set to join the list in 2026, eyeing a Rs 11,000 crore raise from the marketsPhoto by: Madhu Kapparath

10/15

This was the year of a wave of tech IPOs as consumer internet companies Meesho and electric vehicles maker Ather Energy made their public market debut. Photo by Ather Energy: Nishant Ratnakar for Forbes India; Meesho: Selvaprakash Lakshmanan for Forbes India