From securing the second rank in the UPSC Civil Services Examination to representing India on disarmament issues in Geneva, Anmol Sher Singh Bedi has built a career in diplomacy after choosing the Indian Foreign Service over the IAS.Anmol Sher Singh Bedi, an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from Amritsar, is currently serving as Senior Adviser (Disarmament) at India’s Permanent Mission to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, Switzerland. The official mission website lists him in the post and records his work at the multilateral forum.Who is Anmol Sher Singh Bedi?Bedi shot into the national spotlight after securing All India Rank 2 in the UPSC Civil Services Examination 2016 in his first attempt. At the time, the Amritsar resident said he wanted to join the Indian Foreign Service, rather than pursue the more commonly sought IAS.Born and brought up in Amritsar, Bedi completed his Class 12 education at Spring Dale School before pursuing computer engineering at BITS Pilani.From BITS Pilani to Indian diplomacyAfter joining the IFS, Bedi began his career at the Ministry of External Affairs. He served as an Under Secretary in the South Block in New Delhi and subsequently took up diplomatic responsibilities in Geneva.In 2018, he was named the best officer trainee by the Ministry of External Affairs and received a gold medal from then External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj at a valedictory function in New Delhi.What does Anmol Bedi do in Geneva?His current role places him at the centre of India’s multilateral diplomacy on disarmament and international security.Official records show Bedi delivering Indian statements at the Conference on Disarmament on issues including nuclear disarmament, outer-space security and arms control. He has also represented India in discussions concerning biological and toxin weapons and other international security issues.His earlier work in Geneva included serving as an Under Secretary in the Disarmament and International Security Affairs division of the Ministry of External Affairs.Anmol Bedi’s Amritsar connectionBedi’s success in the UPSC examination had attracted considerable attention in Amritsar. His family, too, has an academic and social-service background. His father, Dr Sarabjit Singh Bedi, is an academic, while his mother, Jassi Bedi, works with an NGO. Bedi has credited his family, particularly his sister Gursimran Kaur Bedi, for supporting him during his UPSC preparation. Anmol’s father SS Bedi is a professor at the National Institute of Technology (NIT), Jalandhar. His grandfather, Gajinder Singh Bedi, was a DSP in the Punjab PolicFrom an engineering student in Amritsar to a diplomat working on some of the world’s most sensitive security and disarmament issues, Bedi’s journey has taken him from a UPSC Rank 2 finish to India’s diplomatic mission in Geneva.