“Each and every day, ordinary people go out and do extraordinary things for their communities. They represent the very best of the UK and that core value of service which I put at the centre of everything this government does,” said UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer as the UK Cabinet Office released King Charles III’s 2025 New Year Honours List.
“The New Year Honours List celebrates more of these unsung heroes, and I thank them for their incredible contribution,” he said.
More than 1,200 recipients receive honours this year across all sectors, with particular commendation to role models in sport, healthcare, academia and voluntary service. Conservative MP and former minister Ranil Jayawardena, of Sri Lankan and Indian heritage, is on the list of Knighthoods along with former England team manager Sir Gareth Southgate, who is recognised for services to Association Football.
The List awards a Companion of Honour, of which there are only 65 recipients at any time, to author and screenwriter Sir Kazuo Ishiguro; and a Dame Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for author Dame Jacqueline Wilson, and a Knight Grand Cross for Professor Sir Leszek Borysiewicz lately Chair of Cancer Research.
Here’s a roll call of some of the Indian-origin professionals, academics, healthcare experts, frontline and community workers to make the 2025 New Year Honours List made up of 1,203 high-achieving individuals…
Knights Bachelor
Knighthoods
The Rt. Hon. Ranil Malcolm JAYAWARDENA
Lately Member of Parliament for North East Hampshire. For Political and Public Service (Bramley, Hampshire)
Order of the Bath
Companions of the Order of the Bath (CB)
Jaee Kamalnath SAMANT CBE
Director General, Public Safety, Home Office. For Public Service (London, Greater London)
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Order of the British Empire
Commanders of the Order of the British Empire (CBE)
Satwant Kaur DEOL
Lately Principle and Chief Executive Officer, The Henley College, Oxfordshire. For services to Further Education (Maidenhead, Berkshire)
Charles Pritam Singh DHANOWA OBE KC (Hon)
Registrar, United Kingdom Competition Appeal Tribunal. For services to Competition Law (London, Greater London)
Professor Sneh KHEMKA
Surgeon, Business Leader, Investor and Chair, Qured, Habitual Healthcare and AllergyRhino. For services to Healthcare, to Science, and to Innovation and Technology (London, Greater London)
Leena NAIR
Global Chief Executive Officer, Chanel and lately Global Chief Human Resources Officer, Unilever. For services to the Retail and Consumer Sector (London, Greater London)
Mayank PRAKASH
President, British Computing Society. For services to the Advancement of Technology Professionals (London, Greater London)
Purnima Murthy TANUKU OBE
Chief Executive, National Day Nurseries Association. For services to Early Years Education (Blackburn, Lancashire)
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Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)
Professor Sanjay ARYA
Medical Director and Consultant Cardiologist, Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Medical Director, Centre for Remediation, Support and Training. For services to Black and Minority Ethnic Doctors and Healthcare in North West England (Bolton, Greater Manchester)
Professor, Early Modern Literature and Culture and Tutorial Fellow, Exeter College, University of Oxford. For services to Interdisciplinary Research in the Humanities and to Public Engagement (Oxford, Oxfordshire)
Tarsem Singh DHALIWAL
Chief Executive Officer, Iceland Foods. For services to the Welsh Economy, Retail and Charity (Mold, Clwyd)
Jasmine DOTIWALA
For services to Broadcasting, to Music and to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (London, Greater London)
Monica KOHLI
President, Women’s International Shipping and Trading Association UK and Chair, Indian Maritime Association UK. For services to Promoting Diversity in the Maritime Industry (London, Greater London)
Soumya MAJUMDAR
Head of Unit, Proceeds of Crime Division, Crown Prosecution Service. For services to Law and Order (Chelmsford, Essex)
Seema MISRA
Campaigner for Subpostmasters. For services to Justice (Woking, Surrey)
Professor Shahina PARDHAN
Founding Director, Vision and Eye Research Institute, Anglia Ruskin University. For services to Optometry and Preventing Blindness (Cambridge, Cambridgeshire)
Ushma Manhar PATEL MBE
Prime Minister's Diary Manager, Prime Minister's Office. For Public Service (London, Greater London)
Gian Singh POWER
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, TLC Lions. For services to Mental Health (London, Greater London)
Sravya RAO
Deputy Director, Economy and Strategic Analysis, Department for Business and Trade. For Public Service (London, Greater London)
Mandeep Kaur SANGHERA
Project Manager and Philanthropist, Coventry. For services to Refugee Resettlement (Coventry, West Midlands)
Savraj Singh SIDHU
Assistant Head, Ukraine Task Force, Security Policy and Operations, Ministry of Defence. For services to Defence (London, Greater London)
Smruti SRIRAM
Chief Executive Officer, Supreme Creations (Bags of Ethics). For services to Fashion (London, Greater London)
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Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE)
Dalim Kumar BASU
Honorary Chair and Volunteer, British Computer Society, North, Central and South London Branches. For services to Young People and the Promotion of Science and Technology (London, Greater London)
Marimouttou COUMARASSAMY
Deputy Chief Operating Officer, Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust, and Founder and Chair, British Indian Nurse Association. For services to Supporting International Nurses (Birmingham, West Midlands)
Professor Bhaskar DASGUPTA
Consultant Rheumatologist, Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. For services to People with Giant Cell Arteritis and Polymyalgia Rheumatica (Westcliff-on-Sea, Essex)
Imran Hussain SHAH
Chair, Police Independent Advisory Group and Community Leader, West Yorkshire Police. For services to Policing and to the community in West Yorkshire (Leeds, West Yorkshire)
Aman SHARMA
Chief Executive Officer, Totus Digital. For services to Building and Fire Safety (Richmond, Greater London)
Professor Ajay Jaikishore VORA
Lately Consultant Paediatric Haematologist, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children NHS Foundation Trust. For services to Childhood Leukaemia (London, Greater London)
Chandni Kalpesh VORA
Chief Operating Officer, Vascroft Contractors Ltd. For services to Business and to Charity (London, Greater London)
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Medallists of the Order of the British Empire (BEM)
Sanjib BHATTACHARJEE
For services to the community in the London Boroughs of Newham, Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London, Greater London)
Jagrupe BINNIG
For services to the community in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire (Newark, Nottinghamshire)
Hemandra HINDOCHA
Postmaster, Westcotes Post Office. For services to the Post Office and to the community in the Midlands (Leicester, Leicestershire)
Enoch KANAGARAJ
Founder, One Vision and Vice-Chair, Hertfordshire County Interfaith. For services to Charity and to the community in Hertfordshire (Dunstable, Bedfordshire)
Jaswinder KUMAR
President, Management Committee of Sri Guru Ravidass Sabha Bedford. For Charitable Services in Bedford (Bedford, Bedfordshire)
Preshanthi Devarani NAVARATNAM
Executive Assistant, Department for Education. For Public, Voluntary and Charitable Service (Doncaster, South Yorkshire)
Balbir SINGH (Balbir Singh Khanpur Bhujhangy)
Musician. For services to Bhangra Music and to Punjabi Culture in the West Midlands (Smethwick, West Midlands)