Who Is Harsh Shringla, Ex-Foreign Secretary Who Became President's Nominee To Rajya Sabha?
Harsh Vardhan Shringla was among the four nominees by the President of India to Rajya Sabha. Other eminent name on the list was Ujjwal Nikam, who helped prosecute Ajmal Kasab.
The President of India nominated four members to the Rajya Sabha, which includes an accomplished diplomat and former foreign secretary, Harsh Shringla.
Others who were nominated to the Upper House of the Parliament include eminent lawyer Ujjwal Nikam, who led the prosecution case against 26/11 attack terrorist Ajmal Kasab in the sessions court and the Bombay High Court.
'In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate to the Council of States the following persons to fill the vacancies caused due to retirement of nominated members:- Ujjwal Deorao Nikam, C Sadanandan Master, Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Dr Meenakshi Jain," the MHA notification said on Saturday.
Who Is Harsh Vardhan Shringla?
Shringla is an ex-Foreign Secretary of India. He joined the IFS in 1984 and was the youngest in his batch. He has been described by his peers as 'no nonsense" and 'sharp".
He graduated from Delhi University's St. Stephen's College. He published papers on economic diplomacy, Indian diaspora, conflict prevention, and India-Bangladesh relations. He has also published op-eds in outlets such as The New York Times.
Before diplomatic service, he worked briefly in India's corporate and public sectors.
He served as an Ambassador to Thailand (from 2014 to 2016), High Commissioner to Bangladesh (from 2016 to 2019), and then as Ambassador to the United States (from January 2019 to January 2020).
He served as the 33rd Foreign Secretary from January 29, 2020, to April 30, 2022.
He also served as the Chief Coordinator during India's Presidency of the G20 Summit in 2023. He oversaw the successful organisation and adoption of the Delhi Declaration on Day One of the summit in New Delhi.
Shringla has held key roles at the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi, including Joint Secretary for Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and the Maldives. He also led the UN Political and SAARC divisions, and earlier handled Nepal, Bhutan, and Western Europe affairs.
As Ambassador in the US, he was the man behind organising the biggest event of Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Indian-Americans in the country – Howdy Modi – in which President Donald Trump had also participated. Though the event was organised by Texas India Forum, it had been in close coordination with the Indian Embassy in Washington, then led by Shringla.
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First Published:
July 13, 2025, 10:11 IST
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