Former MEA Spokesperson Vikas Swarup appointed Secretary of Overseas Indian Affairs

Senior diplomat Vikas Swarup has been appointed as Secretary, Overseas Indian Affairs, according to an order issued by the Personnel Ministry on Friday. 

Swarup, 56, a 1986-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, was India's High Commissioner in Ottawa. He also served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, South Africa, and Japan in various Indian diplomatic missions. In April 2015, he was appointed as the official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs of India to head its Public Diplomacy divisions at New Delhi, succeeding Syed Akbaruddin.

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He has been appointed as the Secretary, (consular, passport, visa and Overseas Indian affairs) in the External Affairs Ministry with effect from August 1, 2019, the order said. 

Swarup will report to the Minister of External Affairs of India, Subhramanyam Jaishankar. He will assist in Diaspora Services, Financial Services, Emigration Services, and Management Services. However, since he is the Secretary, of  Overseas Indian Affairs he will mainly handle and be in charge of the Emigration services of the country.

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Swarup is also a writer whose most famous books is, the novel Q & A, adapted in the film as 'Slumdog Millionaire', the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and BAFTA Awards.

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(With PTI inputs)