Shyam Saran to quit as PM's envoy

Shyam Saran, who was first appointed as a special envoy on the Indo-US nuclear deal and later on climate change, will leave the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on March 14.

“Saran will demit office on March 14,” a PMO source said.

No reasons were given for his decision, which comes more than a fortnight after another foreign service official, Shivshankar Menon, was appointed the National Security Advisor (NSA). Notably, both were foreign secretaries and had retired. While Menon retired late last year, Saran had retired three years before that.

While Menon was given the rank of Minister of State following his appointment as NSA, there were reports last week that Saran would get a similar status.

Interestingly, another envoy of the Prime Minister, much senior to Menon, Satinder Lambah, continues to be in place. Lambah is engaged in backchannel discussions with Pakistan.