New Delhi: Seasoned diplomat Periasamy Kumaran was on Thursday appointed as India’s new high commissioner to the United Kingdom.
Kumaran, a 1992-batch Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer, is presently serving as Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
He is expected to take up the assignment shortly, the MEA said.
Currently serving as Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, Kumaran brings significant diplomatic experience, having previously served as India’s ambassador to Singapore and Qatar.
Kumaran holds a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication from IIT Madras and is a career diplomat with extensive experience across regions and roles. He is married to Ritu Kumaran and the couple has two sons, according to the foreign ministry’s official website.
He began his diplomatic career as third secretary at the Indian Embassy in Cairo (1994–1997), followed by postings in Tripoli as second secretary (1997–2000) and Brussels as first secretary (2000–2003). He later served as deputy secretary (Europe West) in the ministry of External Affairs from 2003 to 2005.
Kumaran went on to serve as a regional passport officer in Bengaluru (2005–2007), after which he was posted to Islamabad as counsellor (2007–2009), followed by a stint in Washington in the same role (2009–2011). He then served as deputy high commissioner in Colombo from 2011 to 2014.
He returned to New Delhi as joint secretary in the Consular, Passport and Visa Division (2014–2016) before taking up his first ambassadorial assignment in Doha, where he served as ambassador to Qatar from 2016 to 2020. He was subsequently appointed high commissioner to Singapore (2020–2023).
In July 2023, he took over as additional secretary (Economic Relations and Development Partnership Administration) in the MEA and was later elevated to Special Secretary in the same division. He assumed charge as Secretary (East) on April 1, 2025.
