Ajai Malhotra

Education

He was schooled at various locations in India and abroad, completing it at St. Xavier's School, Delhi. He earned his BA(Hons.) in Economics from the Hindu College, University of Delhi and later completed his master's degree in economics from the Delhi School of Economics. In 2004, he was awarded a Doctorate by the Vasile Goldiş Western University of Arad, Romania, in recognition of his work in support of environmental causes and development. Malhotra speaks English, Hindi, Russian, German and Kiswahili.

Diplomat

After joining the Indian Foreign Service in 1977, his first posting abroad was in 1979, where he served at the High Commission in Nairobi till 1982, handling political work relating to Kenya, and overseeing the development of India's relations with Seychelles. In 1982, he was appointed as the Second Secretary (Pol.) at the Indian mission in Moscow, where he served till 1985, leaving that mission as the First Secretary (Pol.).

From 1985, he served at the Permanent Mission of India to the UN, in Geneva, as First Secretary (Pol.) where he handled work related to the WHO, WIPO and ILO. He returned to the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi in 1989, where he was a Deputy Secretary, He was later Director in the UN Division of the ministry, where his focus was on Human Rights and international Environmental issues.

He was Counsellor (Information) at the Indian Embassy, Moscow, from 1993 - 1996, returning to the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi, as OSD/Director/Joint Secretary, where he guided India's foreign relations with 22 Central and Eastern European countries. In 1999, he was assigned as Minister (Commerce) at the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C. where he served till 2003. He was simultaneously Chairman of the International Cotton Advisory Committee in 2002.

Ambassador

Ajai Malhotra's first appointment as Ambassador of India, was to Romania with concurrent accreditation to Moldova and Albania where he served from 2003 to 2005. From 2005 – 2009, he served as Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative of India to the UN, New York. Based on leaked American diplomatic cables, published by Wikileaks, it was reported that Ajai Malhotra was posted to the UN Mission, New York to balance the anti-US decisions taken by Nirupam Sen, then Permanent Representative of India, to the UN.

He served as ambassador of India to Kuwait from 2009–2011. During his tenure, he was responsible for expanding the protection of Indian workers in the country and set up a safe house, especially for domestic workers in distress. His tenure was also highlighted by high level visits from Indian officials to Kuwait, including the Vice-President of India, Mr. Hamid Ansari and S. M. Krishna, former External Affairs Minister.

He served as the Ambassador of India to Russia from 16 May 2011 - 30 November 2013. His tenure saw the visit of Indian Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh in mid-December 2011 to Russia, and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev visiting India in March 2012 for the BRICS summit held in New Delhi. His tenure also saw visits to India in December 2012 by Russian President Vladimir Putin and to Russia by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in September 2013 for the G20 Summit in St. Petersburg and in November 2013 to Moscow for the annual India-Russia Bilateral Summit. The 65th anniversary of bilateral Indo-Russian diplomatic relations was also marked with year-long celebrations during his tenure. His tenure also saw the induction of three Talwar-class frigates into the Indian Navy fleet, INS Teg, INS Tarkash, and INS Trikand, as well as India's nuclear powered submarine INS Chakra and aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. INS Trikand was launched by his wife, Mrs. Ira Malhotra.

He retired on 30 November 2013.

Recognition

In 2004, he was awarded a Doctorate (Honoris Causa) by the Vasile Goldiş Western University of Arad, Romania, in recognition of his work in support of environmental causes and sustainable development. He was cited by the awards committee of the Palmer Prize for Advancing Democracy, awarded by the Council for a Community of Democracies for his role in supporting democratic development and development of the United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF), and for being a forceful advocate of channelling UNDEF funds to civil society.

Post retirement

On November 20, 2015 he was appointed as an Independent Director of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and on January 16, 2017, he was appointed as Independent Director of ONGC Videsh Limited.

Since April 2014 he has been a Distinguished Fellow & Senior Adviser (Climate Change) at The Energy and Resources Institute. He is a regular contributor to seminars on international political, economic, trade, defence and environmental issues.

He is currently the Chairman and Managing Trustee of two charitable organisations, Chikitsa and Shiksha. He was elected the Chairman of the Nehru Trust for the Indian Collections at the Victoria & Albert Museum, and is also the Chairman of the Managing Committee of the NAB Centre for Blind Women & Disability Studies.

Personal life

Ajai Malhotra is married to Ira Malhotra, who is a teacher and was the founding editor of 'Parenting' magazine in India. She launched the warship, the INS Trikand, which was delivered to India from Russia during his tenure. He has a son and a daughter. He is the son of General OP Malhotra.