Harsh Vardhan Shringla appointed as new Indian Foreign Secretary

Indian envoy to the United States Harsh Vardhan Shringla was on Monday appointed as the new Indian Foreign Secretary for a two-year fixed term.

Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad during his 35 years in the service.
Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad during his 35 years in the service. Photo courtesy: Wikimedia

Shringla, a 1984 batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is considered an expert on India's neighbourhood and will take over from Vijay Gokhale.

Shringla's immediate task is expected to be ramping up of diplomatic outreach in the wake of international criticism of the Citizenship Amendment Act by several countries and global institutions.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved Shringla for the post of foreign secretary, a government order said, adding he will assume the new role on January 29 after incumbent Gokhale completes his tenure.

The government did not follow the seniority principle in appointing Shringla to the top post. Indian High Commissioner to the UK Ruchi Ghanshyam, a 1982 batch IFS officer, was also in contention.

Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad during his 35 years in the service.

He has served as High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and Ambassador of India to Thailand. He has also served in France, Vietnam, Israel and South Africa.

At the headquarters of the Ministry of External Affairs here, Shringla served as Joint Secretary looking after India's ties with Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Maldives. He has also headed the United Nations Political and SAARC divisions in the ministry.

Shringla played an important role in organising the ‘Howdy Modi’ event in Houston in September 2019, where US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi jointly addressed the Indian diaspora.

Author
CtoI News Desk
CtoI News Desk – CtoI

Singapore-headquartered online media company targeting Indian Diaspora across Singapore, US, UK, UAE and India. Connected to India covers developments around NRIs. Covers arts, political, sports, finance, entrepreneurship, business, movies, dramas, entertainment and other news for Indians living worldwide.

Comments
Poll

Which team do you think will win IPL 2023?

  • Chennai Super Kings
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore
  • Mumbai Indians
  • Gujarat Titans
  • Kolkata Knight Riders
  • Delhi Capitals
  • Sunrisers Hyderabad
  • Lucknow Super Giants
  • Royal Challengers Bangalore
  • Punjab Kings
Answer
Write your story

Contribute an Article

Learn more