The Indian government has picked a successor for Ajit Kumar, Atlanta’s first Indian consul general, who left in February to take up a new post as permanent representative to the United Nations in Geneva.
Nagesh Singh, a career diplomat most recently posted in Delhi as a joint secretary to the vice president, will become India’s second consul general here and should arrive within the next few months, according to sources at the consulate.
Mr. Singh’s appointment was first reported by the local NRI Pulse newspaper, which cited the announcement last week by senior diplomat Vikas Swarup during his visit to Atlanta. Mr. Swarup is also known as the best-selling author of the book “Q & A,” on which the Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire” was based. According to Khabar magazine, Mr. Swarup asked an banquet audience of the Georgia Association of Physicians of Indian Heritage to welcome Mr. Singh and give support to the consulate general, which is “still new” after being open for three years.
Having entered the foreign service in 1995, Mr. Singh has spent time as director for Pakistan at the Ministry of External Affairs and counselor in the mission of India to the U.N. He also served in Senegal and France, according to the magazine.
His appointment comes at a time of change in India’s representation to the U.S. Arun Singh, former ambassador to France, was announced March 8 as the new envoy to the U.S. He succeeded S. Jaishankar, who became India’s foreign secretary not too long after visiting Atlanta.
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