Though outgoing governments rarely make new appointments, the UPA has appointed senior IFS official Meera Shankar as the next Indian ambassador to the US. Shankar is currently the ambassador in Germany and will take over from Ronen Sen.
Nirupama Rao, currently the ambassador in Beijing, is tipped to succeed Shiv Shankar Menon as foreign secretary; Rao’s husband, Sudhakar Rao (IAS, Karnataka cadre), is said to be in the running for the job of Election Commissioner once Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) N Gopalaswamy retires and Navin Chawla becomes the CEC. Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta is among the other probables for the EC’s job.