S Jaishankar, a former foreign secretary, became the External Affairs Minister in May

Gujarat cadre IAS officer Ravi Kumar Arora has been appointed as the Private Secretary to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, according to a government order passed on Wednesday.

Arora is a 2006 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre. Jaishankar, a former foreign secretary, became the External Affairs Minister in May.

"The competent authority has approved the proposal for appointment of Ravi Kumar Arora as Private Secretary to the Minister for External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar in the Ministry of External Affairs at the level of Deputy Secretary for a period of five years or on co-terminus basis with the minister, whichever is earliest," according to the order by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT).