From Embassies to UPSC | Sanjay Verma | Member, UPSC | Gazali | 120825

As part of our Gazali series, we had the privilege of interviewing Sanjay Verma, a seasoned Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer from Delhi, now serving as a Member of the UPSC. A 1990 batch officer, Sanjay Verma has held key diplomatic roles including Ambassador to Spain, Andorra, Ethiopia, Djibouti, and the African Union, and has served in missions across Beijing, Kathmandu, Manila, and Hong Kong. His diverse portfolio spans bilateral relations, multilateral diplomacy (UN, NAM, G77), economic affairs, media, diaspora engagement, and humanitarian missions like Operation Rahat (Yemen), Operation Ganga (Ukraine), and Operation Dost (Türkiye). He has served as Secretary (West), Chief of Protocol, and Joint Secretary for Energy Security, among other senior roles. An alumnus of Wilson College, Jai Hind College, and JNU, he holds an M.A. in International Studies and has been awarded the Dorabji Tata Scholarshipand a UGC Fellowship. Outside of diplomacy, he enjoys reading, podcasts, music, films, and collecting first-edition booksand Bollywood memorabilia—with a sportsman’s heart, having played university-level hockey in Mumbai. #Gazali #SanjayVerma #UPSC #IndianForeignService #CivilServicesIndia #DiplomacyInAction #CareerInDiplomacy #PublicService #GlobalDiplomacy #ForeignPolicy #InternationalAffairs #BilateralTies #OperationGanga #OperationRahat #OperationDost #InspiringMinds #LeadershipJourney #CareerInspiration #StudentVoices