Vikram Misri, ex-China envoy, named deputy NSA

Vikram Misri has been announced as the successor to the post of deputy National Security Advisor under head NSA Ajit Doval at the National Security Council Secretariat. Misri, who was a former Indian envoy to China for five years until he vacated the post earlier this month, is an IFS officer and expert diplomat with extensive experience negotiating with Beijing.

He will succeed Pankaj Saran, the current deputy NSA and will take his place alongside Rajender Khanna and Datta Pandsalgikar who are also deputy National Security Advisors. Saran is a former Indian envoy to Bangladesh and Russia and is expected to vacate his post by December 31.

One of Misri's notable accomplishments is his tenure as Chinese envoy during one of the most challenging periods in India's relationship with China, which is the recent border stand-off that has been persisting for almost 19 months. The dispute has not been resolved since a.clash between security forces from either side in the Galwan valley in June 2020 leading to the first casualties in the region in over forty years.

He has served under three Prime Ministers include I.K Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi. He became private secretary to Gujral when the latter became Prime Minister, from April 1997 to March 1998, after working for an extended period as an undersecretary in his office when Gujral was still the External Affairs minister.

He was private secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh from October 2012 to May 2014. He also served as private secretary to Prime Minister Narendra Modi from May 2014 to July 2014.

Misri has also served as India's Ambassador to Myanmar and Spain. He will be succeeded in the post of envoy to China by Pradeep Kumar Rawat.