The Centre on Thursday announced that Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Vikas Swarup has been appointed India’s High Commissioner to Canada. A statement by the ministry said Swarup is expected to replace acting High Commissioner Arun Kumar Sahu soon.

Swarup is a 1986 batch Indian Foreign Service official. He is also the author of award-winning book Q&A which was adapted into the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. The book bagged the Exclusive Books Boeke Prize 2006 as well as the Paris Book Fair’s Reader’s Prize.

His diplomatic career has had him posted in several countries including Turkey, the United States, Ethiopia, the United Kingdom and South Africa. He served as Consul General of India in Osaka-Kobe, Japan from 2009 to 2013.