P S Raghavan India's next ambassador to Russia

P S Raghavan, currently Secretary in the Ministry of External Affairs, has been appointed India's next ambassador to Russia, it was officially announced here today.
A 1979-batch IFS officer, Raghavan will succeed Ajai Malhotra, who will retire on November 30.
Raghavan is expected to take up his assignment shortly, the MEA said.
Fluent in the Russian language, Raghavan was the Second Secretary at the Indian Embassy in Moscow in 1981-82.
Apart from serving on many important assignments in India and abroad, Raghavan also did a four-year-long stint as a joint secretary in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) nine years ago.