Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has fired the country's highest ranking diplomat and replaced her with India's ambassador to the United States, a day after a successful visit to India by President Barack Obama.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar took over as India's foreign secretary Thursday.
Indian media reported that the appointment was Jaishankar's reward for turning around India's ties with Washington, including organizing Modi's visit to Washington in September.
India-U.S. ties suffered a set-back after New Delhi's deputy consul general in New York, Devyanai Khobragade, was arrested in December 2013 on visa fraud charges. She left the United States in January last year and now works in New Delhi.
Jaishankar has previously served as India's ambassador to China and Singapore.