NEW DELHI: Foreign secretary Vinay Kwatra was on Tuesday given a second extension in service by the government and is now set to continue in the post for six more months till October 2024.

A notification from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) said Kwatra, who was set to complete his extended tenure on April 30 this year, will remain in service for six more months till October 31 “or until further orders”.

Kwatra, who took over as foreign secretary on May 1, 2022, was earlier given an extension in November 2022 so that he could have a fixed term of two years.

He has played a crucial role in the government’s response to several key issues, including the Ukraine crisis and the standoff with China on the Line of Actual Control (LAC), as well as India’s G20 presidency in 2023.

There had been considerable speculation in diplomatic circles in recent weeks as to whether Kwatra would be given an extension in service or an ambassadorial appointment in a key Western capital.

People familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity that deputy national security adviser Vikram Misri, one of the senior-most officers in the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), is widely tipped to be the next foreign secretary. Misri’s last diplomatic assignment was as the envoy to China in the early days of the standoff on the LAC.

Another IFS officer whose name did the rounds for the post of foreign secretary is Pavan Kapoor, the previous ambassador to Russia who was appointed the new secretary (West) in the external affairs ministry last month, the people said.