Indian Prime Minister Modi’s unconventional appointment of a former career diplomat as foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, suggests India will have its most visible and active role in the global community yet. In a surprise move, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has appointed a former top career diplomat, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, as the minister of external affairs. He replaces Ms Sushma Swaraj, who served in this role from 2014 to 2019 in the first Modi government.