Sujatha Singh, currently India's envoy to Germany, will be the next Foreign Secretary following an approval of her appointment by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, ending months of speculation on who will head the foreign services.
59-year-old Ms Singh, a 1976 batch IFS officer, was a close contender for the top job along with India's Ambassador to China, S Jaishankar, who is a batch junior to her. Jaishankar's name was doing the rounds for the post because of his excellent service record, particularly as envoy to China.
