Syed Akbaruddin India’s new envoy at UN

Senior diplomat and former MEA spokesman Syed Akbaruddin is India’s new permanent representative to the UN, succeeding Asoke Mukerji.

A 1985-batch IFS officer, Mr Akbaruddin is now an MEA additional secretary. He was chief coordinator of the recent India-Africa Summit, and is considered a West Asia expert.

As spokesman, he brought a whiff of fresh air into the external publicity division, using a mix of social and digital media. He was succeeded by Vikas Swarup, on whose novel Q&A the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire is based, as spokesman in April.