Jyotindra Nath Dixit was an Indian diplomat,who served as Foreign Secretary (1991–1994),the top bureaucrat in the Ministry of External Affairs. At the time of his death,he was the National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and is mostly remembered for his role as a negotiator in disputes with Pakistan and China.
The National Security Advisor is the senior official on the National Security Council of India,and the chief advisor to the Prime Minister of India on national security policy and international affairs. In 2019,the term of Ajit Doval the current NSA was extended for another 5-year term,and has been assigned the rank of a Union Cabinet Minister and ranks at the seventh position in the Indian Order of Precedence.
The National Security Council (NSC) of India is an executive government body tasked with advising the prime Minister of India on matters of national security and foreign policy. It was established by the former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee on 19 November 1998,with Brajesh Mishra as the first National Security Advisor.
The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of the Republic of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vikram Misri is the 35th and the current Foreign Secretary.
Shyam Saran is an Indian career diplomat. He joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1970 and rose to become the Foreign Secretary to the Government of India. Prior to his appointment as the Foreign Secretary he served as India's ambassador to Myanmar,Indonesia and Nepal and as its High Commissioner to Mauritius. Upon finishing his tenure as the Foreign Secretary,he was appointed the Prime Minister's Special Envoy for Indo-US Civil Nuclear Issues and later as Special Envoy and Chief Negotiator on Climate Change.
Shivshankar Menon is an Indian diplomat,who served as National Security Adviser of India under Prime Minister of India Manmohan Singh. He had previously served as the Foreign Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs. Prior to that he was Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan,and Sri Lanka and ambassador to China and Israel. He is currently Distinguished Fellow at the Centre for Social and Economic Progress. He is also Visiting Professor of International Relations at Ashoka University.
Brajesh Chandra Mishra was an Indian diplomat from the Indian Foreign Service and politician,best known for serving as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's principal secretary and India's first National Security Advisor from 1998 to 2004. He received Padma Vibhushan for his contributions.
Ranjan Mathai is an Indian civil servant of the IFS cadre who was a former Indian Foreign Secretary and Indian High Commissioner to the UK. Prior to this,he served as Foreign Secretary of India from 1 August 2011 to 31 July 2013.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar,better known as S. Jaishankar,is an Indian diplomat,politician and author,who is serving as the 30th Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018.
Rajinder Khanna is the current Additional National Security Advisor of India,formerly since 2018 he served as the secretary of the National security council secretariat he was also the former chief of Research and Analysis Wing,the external intelligence agency of India. He joined the Indian Police Service (IPS) in 1978 and was allotted to Odisha cadre. From 1979 to 1985,he held several important posts including Superintendent of Police in Puri and Ganjam districts in Odisha. As the Superintendent of Police in Puri,he received a number of commendations from the Chief Minister for eradicating dacoity in the district.
Atul Keshap is a retired American diplomat and career United States Foreign Service Officer from Virginia who serves at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as the President of the U.S.- India Business Council since January 2022. He also serves as Senior Vice President for South Asia and as President of the U.S.-Bangladesh Business Council. Previously,he served as the Chargéd'affaires of the United States mission to India in 2021. He formerly served as U.S. Ambassador to Sri Lanka and the Maldives and Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State of the Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs at the United States Department of State. In 2022,Ambassador Keshap was elected into membership of the American Academy of Diplomacy. In May 2023,Keshap was named one of Washington's most influential foreign policy influencers for his work to shape U.S. relations with India.
Alexander Mikhailovich Kadakin was a Russian diplomat and the Russian Ambassador to India from 2009 until his death in 2017. Kadakin had earlier served as the ambassador to India between 1999 and 2004. He was a noted Indophile. Kadakin died from heart failure while in service in New Delhi in 2017. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 2018.
Ajay Bisaria is a corporate strategic advisor,guiding global businesses on geopolitics and regulations. He advises OMERS in India and several companies in private equity,fintech,health tech,and more. He is also a Distinguished Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation (ORF). Earlier Ajay Bisaria was an Indian diplomat with a diplomatic career spanning 35 years,Bisaria has held key positions in some of India's most critical economic and security relationships. He served as the High Commissioner of India to Canada from March 2020 to June 2022,and prior to that,he was the High Commissioner of India to Pakistan from December 2017 to February 2020. Bisaria has also represented India at the World Bank in Washington,D.C.,and served in various capacities in Indian embassies in Berlin and Moscow. Within the Ministry of External Affairs,the Department of Commerce,and the Prime Minister’s Office,he played a significant role,including being a key aide to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee from 1999 to 2004. Bisaria is a specialist in India's Eurasia policy,having worked extensively with Russia,Ukraine,and Central Asia. Before his diplomatic service,he worked with American Express Bank and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited in Delhi.
Preeti Saran is an Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre 1982 batch. In December 2018,Saran was elected unopposed to the United Nations Committee on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights for a term from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022.
Riva Ganguly Das is a retired Indian civil servant who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service cadre. She is the former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and former Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations,an autonomous organisation of the Government of India.
Harsh Vardhan Shringla is Chief Coordinator for India’s G20 Presidency in 2023. He has previously served as Foreign Secretary of India and India's Ambassador to the United States,High Commissioner to Bangladesh,and Ambassador to Thailand.
Manjeev Singh Puri is a retired Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre and the former Ambassador of India to Nepal.
Pavan Kapoor is an Indian diplomat and former Secretary (West) in the Ministry of External Affairs,Indian Ambassador to Russia. Currently,he is serving as the Deputy National Security Advisor in the National Security Council secretariat. He previously served as India's High Commissioner to Mozambique and the Kingdom of Swaziland from January 2014 to early 2016,Ambassador to Israel from March 2016 to September 2019,and Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates from October 2019 to November 2021.
Vikram Misri is an Indian diplomat. He currently serves as the 35th Foreign Secretary of India from July 2024 onwards. Previously,he served as the Deputy National Security Advisor of India from 1 January 2022,succeeding Pankaj Saran till 14 July 2024. Whereas,he has served as the ambassador of India to China from January 2019 to December 2021.
Satinder Kumar Lambah,also known as Sati Lambah,was an Indian civil servant of 1964 batch of Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as the Prime Minister of India's Special envoy for Afghanistan and Pakistan between 2005 and 2014. He is also known for building a Strategic partnership agreement with Russia when he was an envoy in Moscow between 1998 and 2001.
