In a sudden development, S Jaishankar, India's Ambassador to the US, was on Wednesday night appointed Foreign Secretary, replacing Sujatha Singh whose tenure has been abruptly ‘curtailed’ by nearly eight months. The surprise announcement was made after a meeting of the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Singh's two-year tenure was to end in August this year.
A late night official announcement said, "curtailment oftenure of Ms Sujatha Singh, IFS batch 1976 as FS with immediate effect". "Appointment of S Jaishankar, IFS batch 1977, as Foreign Secretary vice MS Sujatha Singh with a tenure of two years from the date of assumption of charge or until further orders, whichever is earlier, in keeping with the provisions of FR-56(D)," the announcement said.