The 1989 batch IFS officer, who is a China expert and has served under three PMs, I.K Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi, will succeed Pankaj Saran. He will report to NSA Ajit Doval.

China expert and former Indian envoy to Beijing Vikram Misri has been appointed as the Deputy National Security Adviser (NSA). He will report to National Security Adviser Ajit Doval.

The 1989 batch IFS officer will join two other Deputy NSAs Rajender Khanna and Datta Pandsalgikar at the National Security Council Secretariat.

The 57-year-old will succeed Pankaj Saran, a former Indian envoy to Bangladesh and Russia, whose term in office ends on December 31 this year.

In his new role, Misri is expected to help India formulate its response to the military standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control, Hindustan Times reported.

Meanwhile, Pradeep Kumar Rawat has been appointed India's envoy to China in place of Misri.

Misri’s Early Years

Born in Srinagar on November 7, 1964, Misri went to different schools across the country, including Burn Hall School and DAV School in Srinagar, Carmel Convent School in Jammu and Kashmir, and Scindia School in Gwalior. He graduated in history from the Hindu College, University of Delhi, and completed his MBA degree from XLRI, Jamshedpur.

Serving In New Delhi

Misri worked in the advertising sector for three years before joining the government. He has worked under three Prime Ministers – I.K. Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.

He has also served in various capacities in the Ministry of External Affairs and in several Indian missions in Asia, North America, Europe and Africa.

Between November 1996 and April 1997, Misri served as the under-secretary in the Office of the External Affairs Minister under I.K. Gujral. He was later appointed as private secretary to Gujral when he became the Prime Minister from April 1997 to March 1998.

He returned to the Office of the External Affairs Minister as director during Pranab Mukherjee’s tenure between November 2006 and September 2008. During this period, the Indo-US nuclear deal was being negotiated.

After briefly serving as the joint secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office in 2012, Misri was appointed as the private secretary to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, a position he held from October 2012 to May 2014. He continued to serve as private secretary to Narendra Modi after the latter became Prime Minister between May and July 2014.

Missions Abroad

Misri has served in various capacities in different mission to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, US, Brussels, China and Spain.

Between August 2000 and September 2003, he was first secretary in the High Commission of India in Islamabad at the time armed terrorists attacked the Indian Parliament, killing as many as 14 people.

Misra then went on to become the political counsellor in the Embassy of India in Washington DC from September 2003 to October 2006.

Between September 2008 and February 2012, he was posted in Sri Lanka as the deputy high commissioner of India and in Munich as Consul General of India. He later served as the ambassador of India to Spain and Myanmar between August 2014 and December 2018.

Misri served as India’s ambassador to China between 2019 and 2021.