Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri has been granted an extension in tenure, just three months ahead of BRICS leaders’ summit being hosted by New Delhi in September this year.The Appointments Committee of Cabinet okayed the extension saying “the tenure of Misri has been extended beyond July 14, 2026, till July 14, 2027 or till further orders”.The BRICS summit will be a flagship event with India having invited the top leadership of Russia, China, South Africa and Brazil, besides the new members of BRICS like Iran and the UAE.Misri, who will turn 62 in November, is regarded as an expert on China and national security. He had assumed charge as India’s Foreign Secretary in July 2024, just a month after Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA alliance swept to power for third consecutive time.Misri, a 1989-batch Indian Foreign Service officer has navigated through various geo-political challenges, including the downturn in India-US relations after the return of Donald Trump in January 2025.  He was also at the helm when India-China thawed in October 2024 following the lingering eastern Ladakh border row.He has served in various capacities at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), in the Prime Minister’s Office and in various Indian missions in Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.He has the rare distinction of serving as private secretary to three prime ministers —Inder Kumar Gujral, Manmohan Singh and Narendra Modi.Misri has served as India’s ambassador to China from 2019-2021 and is believed to have played a key role in talks between India and China after tensions flared significantly following the Galwan Valley clashes in June 2020.Misri also served as India’s Ambassador to Spain (2014-2016) and Myanmar (2016-2018), besides having stints in many Indian missions, including Pakistan, the US, Germany, Belgium and Sri Lanka.Misri was born in Srinagar and had his early education there (Burn Hall School and DAV School) as well as in Udhampur (Carmel Convent School) in Jammu and Kashmir.He finished his schooling from the Scindia School in Gwalior and went on to earn a Bachelor’s degree with honours in history from the Hindu College in the University of Delhi and an MBA from XLRI, Jamshedpur.