Known to be having extensive expertise in dealing with India's neighbourhood as well as the US, China and Europe, the 1988-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer pipped nearly half-a-dozen others in the race for the coveted post including Indian High Commissioner to UK Gaitri Issar Kumar (1986-batch IFS) and Ruchira Kamboj (1987 batch IFS).
Prime Minister Modi held separate talks with world leaders including his Nepalese counterpart K P Sharma Oli, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, discussing various facets of bilateral ties and reaffirmed India's support for the Palestinian people.
With Lok Sabha elections months away, the visits are vital politically as these would showcase Modi's standing as a world leader to the home electorate.
Calling Canada's behaviour 'the pits', India's recalled high commissioner Sanjay Verma says India was backstabbed and treated in a most unprofessional manner by a country that is supposed to be a friendly democracy.
Following the disengagement, both sides will soon start the coordinated patrolling in their respective areas, sources added.
Pakistan's ministry of foreign affairs said that the violation of Pakistan's sovereignty is "completely unacceptable" and warned of serious consequences.
President Pratibha Patil yet again came out with a strong defence of her foreign tours, saying she was forced to go public on the issue despite government clarifications.
Since April this year, the ministry of defence of the Russian Federation has stopped recruiting citizens of a number of foreign countries, including India, into the military service, it said.
Former US House Speaker Nancy Peolsi, who is part of a US bipartisan delegation which met with the Dalai Lama on Wednesday, launched a broadside against Chinese President Xi Jinping, stating that while the legacy of the Tibetan spiritual leader will live forever, Xi will be gone in a few years.
The spokesperson said India has "always advocated constructive, solution-oriented, and practical engagement with all stakeholders to achieve a negotiated settlement to this conflict".
Congress leader and former diplomat Mani Shankar Aiyar called the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) of yore an "upper caste" service, which he claimed is becoming more democratic now with the flavour of the country getting into it.
Amid the diplomatic sparring and souring of bilateral ties in the wake of Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's allegation of Indian involvement in the killing of Sikh separatist leader Hardeep Singh Nijjar, the Special Envoy and Coordinator, Global Engagement Centre, James Rubin said the standoff was a 'tricky subject' as he sought cooperation into the investigation as far as it goes.
The Quad also vowed to work towards a free, open and prosperous Indo-Pacific, a region that has seen increasing Chinese military muscle-flexing in the last few years.
Following the arrest of six ministry of home affairs officials in the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA) bribery case, the foreigners division of MHA has been overhauled to break the chain of deep-rooted network.
In his condolence message, Israeli Prime Minister Lapid said that the thoughts and prayers of all Israelis are with the people of India following yesterday's devastating bridge collapse in Gujarat.
When asked, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Vikas Swarup only said, "There was no meeting."
Taipei on Friday termed China's military exercises around the island nation 'highly provocative' after some Chinese aircraft and warships crossed the median line of the Taiwan Strait.
A data bank carrying finger prints of all foreigners coming to India on e-tourist visa is being set up by the Home ministry to help thwart entry of terrorists and criminals from abroad.
Boycotting the Champions Trophy will not tackle the issue we have with Pakistan, points out Aakar Patel.
The timing coincides with Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu's recent state visit to China, aimed at strengthening ties.
Shringla last served as India's envoy to the US. He will be serving a two-year term. In the course of a diplomatic career spanning 35 years, Shringla has held a variety of positions in New Delhi and abroad, and is considered an expert on India's neighbourhood.
Ever since the Quad started taking shape in 2007, China has been saying that the four-member grouping will be bound to fail. But much to the chagrin of Beijing, it picked up pace in the recent years emerging as a premier strategic group especially challenging China's assertiveness in the disputed South China Sea.
The Maldives Jumhooree Party (JP) leader Qasim Ibrahim called on Maldivian President Mohammed Muizzu to formally apologize to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the people of India, Voice of Maldives, a Maldivian digital news outlet, reported.
Most deaths were due to smoke inhalation while residents were sleeping, and a significant number of occupants were evacuated, they added. The fire started in a kitchen in the six-storey building in the Mangaf area in Kuwait's southern Ahmadi Governorate, officials said, adding that the building reportedly had 195 people living in it, who are workers of the same company.
The war and Modi's recent visit to Ukraine is expected to figure prominently in the bilateral meeting, according to US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan.
The talks will continue tomorrow when the two sides would discuss the Kashmir issue.
In a press statement, the foreign ministry here said 10 Nepali nationals lost their lives in the recent attack by Hamas in Israel.
Amid media reports of rising tensions between New Delhi and Beijing, Chinese ambassador to India Zhang Yan met officials of ministry of external affairs in South Block on Thursday, sources have said.
The Union health ministry on Tuesday said that aid received from other countries has been distributed in different states to help deal with the rising number of COVID-19 cases.
As its diplomatic row with Canada escalates over the killing of a Khalistani separatist, India has apprised its key Western partners and friends about its concerns over increasing activities of anti-India elements from Canadian soil, sources said on Thursday.
The Union home ministry has granted approval to the Shri Ram Janmbhoomi Teerth Kshetra to receive contributions from foreign sources for the construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, its general secretary Champat Rai said on Wednesday.
The government on Saturday lifted the ban on onion exports but imposed a minimum export price (MEP) of $550 per tonne, amid ongoing Lok Sabha elections in the country. Last night, the government imposed a 40 per cent duty on export of onions. In August last year, India had imposed a 40 per cent export duty on onions up to December 31, 2023.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi and his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov will be the other two participants at the conference. Uncertainty had loomed over the meeting following the cross border clash between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley on Monday evening.
External affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the birthday greetings by the prime minister to the Dalai Lama should be seen in this overall context.
Kuwaiti authorities have identified the bodies of 45 Indians and three Filipino nationals killed in the tragic fire incident in a building housing foreign workers in the Gulf Kingdom, a top official said on Thursday.
DFS writes to departments that haven't responded to RBI's request for information.
Swiss foreign minister Ignazio Cassis said Russia would be asked to join the peace plan discussions at some point in time but to bring Russia on the table would require mediation by some countries.
The Delhi high court has struck down a central government office memorandum requiring the judges of the Supreme Court and high courts to obtain political clearance for private visits abroad, saying that such a condition is "uncalled for" in view of the high offices the judges hold.
With the prediction of an above normal monsoon in 2024, the government is expecting food prices to come down, the finance ministry's monthly economic report for March has said. The report, released on Thursday, said robust foreign inflows and comfortable trade deficits were expected to keep the rupee within a comfortable range. "Further easing of food prices is on the anvil as IMD (India Meteorological Department) has predicted above-normal rainfall during the monsoon season, which is likely to lead to higher production, assuming good spatial and temporal distribution of the rainfall," the monthly report, released by the Department of Economic Affairs, said.
Scores of chartered accountants, company secretaries and cost accountants are currently under the regulatory scanner for alleged violations of the companies law with respect to setting up of certain Chinese companies and their subsidiaries in India, according to officials. The apex bodies of chartered accountants and company secretaries, ICAI and ICSI, have together received around 400 complaints on the issue and necessary actions have been initiated. The Institute of Cost Accountants of India has also initiated action against some of their members in the matter.
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