The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday made certain appointments at the level of the Joint Secretary to key divisions within the Ministry on Thursday.
Neeta Bhushan, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1994 batch has been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Central Europe). She has earlier served as the Consul- General at the Consulate of India at Chicago in the US. During this tenure, she is credited with promoting strong business links between Illinois and India.
Ravi Shankar, an IFS officer of the 1995 batch has been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Multilateral economic relations). He has earlier served as the country’s envoy to Uganda.
M Sevala Naik, an IFS officer also of the 1995 batch has been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Overseas Indian Affairs). He has previously served as the Indian High Commissioner to Jamaica in the Caribbean region.
Sridharan Madhusudan, an officer belonging to the 1996 batch of the Indian Foreign Service, has been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Indo-Pacific). He has served as the Director General at the Indo-Taipei Association in Taiwan and has also served in the Embassy of India in the US. He is also a multilingual diplomat who has mastered the Mandarin language and has translated books from Tamil to Mandarin and vice-versa.
Dr Srikar Reddy, a 2001 batch IFS officer has been posted as the Joint Secretary (East and Southern Africa). He is currently serving as the Consul-General at the Consulate of India at Ho Chi Minh city in Vietnam. He has served in the Indian missions in Geneva, Munich and has also served as the Regional Passport Officer in Hyderabad.
Finally, Prakash Gupta, a 2002 batch IFS officer has been appointed as the Joint Secretary (Summits). He is currently serving as the country’s deputy envoy to Indonesia.
In recent times, the Ministry of External Affairs has promoted pro-active diplomacy and encouraged officers who are efficient and determined to make a difference in promoting the nation’s external national interests.