Gopal Baglay takes charge as new MEA Spokesperson

Gopal Baglay on Monday took charge as the new spokesperson for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), replacing Vikas Swarup, who has been appointed as the Indian High Commissioner to Canada.

"I wish my successor Gopal Baglay all the best for the new assignment. He will take MEA communications to the next level, online & offline! Today I bid farewell as the Official Spokesperson, an extraordinary privilege and honour! You can follow me in my new role on @VikasSwarup," Swarup said in a series of tweets.

Baglay formerly was the Joint Secretary of the division dealing with Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran and prior to that, he was the Deputy High Commissioner to Pakistan.

Baglay, who belongs to the 1992 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), has handled media in his previous stint as press counsellor at the embassy in Kathmandu as well as a director in the external publicity division of the ministry of external affairs (MEA).

Swarup has been serving as the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs since April 2015. Prior to that, he was Joint Secretary in charge of the United Nation's Division of the Ministry of External Affairs.

An officer of the 1986 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), Swarup has previously served in Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Japan.

He is best known as the author of the novel Q & A, adapted in the film as Slumdog Millionaire, the winner of Best Film for the year 2009 at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, and BAFTA Awards.