NEW DELHI: The first-ever S K Singh award for excellence in Indian Foreign Service was given to 1988 batch officer D Bala Venkatesh Varma for his work in clinching the Indo-US nuclear deal.
The award was presented by Congress President Sonia Gandhi at a simple function here on Friday evening.
Vice President Mohammed Hamid Ansari was also present. The function was attended by the who’s who of of Indian Foreign Service and several retired Indian diplomats.
Currently posted as Joint Secretary (Disarmament and Internal security Affairs) at MEA headquarters, Varma was honoured for his efforts in strengthening India’s position in the Indo-US nuclear deal. The award has been named after S K Singh, former Indian diplomat and governor of Rajasthan and Arunachal Pradesh, who passed away two years ago. The selection process had begun a year ago, after the Ministry informed all Indian missions and posts to nominate officers under 50 years of age for the award.
The nominations were then short-listed by a two-member committee. The jury included the Vice-President, National Security Advisor Shivshankar Menon, Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai, Cong general secretary Rahul Gandhi and S K Singh’s wife, Manju Singh.