Gokhale, who was the Ambassador to Germany till recently, succeedsAshok K Kantha who was appointed as envoy to China in January 2014 for a two-year term. Kantha retired earlier this month.
A 1981 batch Indian Foreign Services officer, Gokhale served in Indian missions in Hong Kong, Hanoi, Beijing and New York before his posting to Germany.
Gokhale has also held the posts of director (China and East Asia) and then Joint Secretary (East Asia) in the Ministry of External Affairs.
A fluent Chinese speaker, Gokhale is known to be one of the most knowledgeable officials, who is well-versed with China affairs.