India proposes senior diplomat Sudhakar Dalela’s name as next envoy to Nepal

New Delhi: India has proposed senior diplomat Sudhakar Dalela as its next ambassador to Nepal, formally seeking Kathmandu’s agreement for the appointment. The proposal was conveyed by New Delhi on Tuesday, sources told WION. Dalela, a 1993-batch officer of the Indian Foreign Service, is currently Secretary for Economic Relations in the Ministry of External Affairs and serves as India’s Sherpa for BRICS.

The nomination follows the end of the tenure of the present envoy, Naveen Srivastava. Under standard diplomatic practice, Dalela can take up the post only after Nepal grants agrément, the formal consent required before an ambassador is appointed.

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Dalela has extensive experience of the neighbourhood. He was India’s ambassador to Bhutan from 2022 to 2025, and earlier, as Joint Secretary (North) in the external affairs ministry between 2016 and 2019, he oversaw relations with both Bhutan and Nepal. He also handled the Bhutan desk as director earlier in his career, and served in the Prime Minister’s Office from 2009 to 2011, focusing on South Asia and the wider Indo-Pacific.

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His other postings include Tel Aviv, Brasília, Chicago, Geneva, Dhaka and Washington.

As Secretary (Economic Relations) since September 2025, he has handled India’s economic diplomacy, development partnerships and multilateral economic relations. He chaired the first Sherpa meeting under India’s 2026 BRICS chairship in New Delhi in February. Neither government has publicly confirmed a date for Dalela’s arrival. The appointment will take effect only after agrément is granted and credentials are presented in Kathmandu.

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