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AIIMS doctor to Dubai diplomat: Who is India’s new Consul General Vishnu Vardhan Reddy?
The diplomat has arrived in Dubai and met Telugu community representatives, who briefed him on the concerns of residents and workers from Andhra Pradesh and Telangana
- PUBLISHED: Tue 4 Aug 2026, 4:00 PM
Long before taking charge of one of India’s busiest overseas missions, Dr Emmadi Vishnu Vardhan Reddy had trained for a very different career — medicine.
The AIIMS-trained doctor later joined the Indian Foreign Service, beginning a career that would take him to diplomatic missions in Madrid and Geneva, India’s passport administration and senior investment-promotion roles in Telangana.
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Dr Reddy, a 2008-batch IFS officer, has now been appointed Consul General of India in Dubai. He will head the mission serving Dubai and the Northern Emirates, succeeding Satish Kumar Sivan.
The Consulate General of India in Dubai confirmed his appointment to Khaleej Times.
Welcomed by Telugu community in UAE
Soon after his arrival in Dubai, Dr Reddy was welcomed by members of the Telugu community in the UAE.
SV Reddy, president of Telugu Rasamayi, told Khaleej Times that community representatives met the new Consul General and briefed him about Telugu residents living and working in Dubai and the Northern Emirates.
From medicine to diplomacy
Dr Reddy is from Warangal district in the southern Indian state of Telangana. According to Indian media reports, he studied medicine at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi before choosing a career in diplomacy and joining the Indian Foreign Service in 2008.
A regional daily reported that the Dubai assignment would be his first diplomatic posting in the Gulf region.
Overseas diplomatic experience
An official biographical note published in Telangana Industrial Health Clinic Limited’s 2023-24 annual report said that Dr Reddy served at Indian missions in Madrid and Geneva.
During those assignments, he handled bilateral and multilateral relations, giving him experience in both country-to-country diplomacy and work involving several countries and international institutions.
At the Ministry of External Affairs headquarters in New Delhi, he worked in the Europe West, Latin America and Caribbean, and External Publicity divisions, according to the same report.
Official MEA documents from 2013 also identify him as an Under Secretary in the External Publicity Division.
Experience handling passport services
Dr Reddy later moved into a role that brought him into direct contact with thousands of passport applicants. He took charge as Regional Passport Officer in Hyderabad in February 2017 and went on to head both the Regional Passport Office and the MEA Branch Secretariat in the city until 2020.
That experience is likely to be closely watched in Dubai, where passports, documents, emergency assistance and community welfare form an important part of the Consulate’s work.
Investment promotion in Telangana
Before moving to Dubai, Dr Reddy was on deputation to the Telangana government.
He served as Special Secretary for Investment Promotion and External Engagement in the state’s Industries and Commerce Department. His work involved engagement with international businesses and efforts to attract new investment to Telangana.
The official biographical note also listed him as vice-chairman and managing director of the state’s industrial infrastructure corporation, along with additional responsibilities related to trade promotion and overseas employment.
This combination of diplomatic and investment experience could be particularly relevant in Dubai, where business and trade form a major part of India’s relationship with the UAE.
Look at India-UAE diamond trade
Shortly before taking up his Dubai assignment, Dr Reddy visited the Bharat Diamond Bourse in Mumbai on July 24. According to the bourse, he met members of its committee and toured the complex to understand the diamond-trading ecosystem, from the import of rough stones to the export of polished diamonds.
The visit also offered him a closer look at a major business link between India and the UAE, particularly between the diamond and jewellery industries in Mumbai and Dubai.
SM Ayaz Zakir is a Senior Correspondent with a flair for extraordinary stories. His playground? Every corner of the UAE. He often ventures into remote corners of the country to capture compelling news and human interest stories.