The Modi government has sacked Foreign Secretary Sujatha Singh on Wednesday.
The decision came a day after Barack Obama flew out of India and eight months ahead of her retirement, reports Times of India.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, India's ambassador to the US, who's a batch junior to Singh in the service, will be the new foreign secretary.
Jaishankar's appointment promises sweeping changes to the ministry of external affairs. In the past six months, no ambassadorial appointments have been cleared by the government.
The MEA had sent in recommendations but they were not cleared by the PMO, partly because the PM wanted to make the changes at the helm first.
Jaishankar will start work on Thursday, and in the first week of February will preside over the first heads of mission meeting called during the NDA government.
He is expected to get a freer hand in MEA because the PM believes he can take out-of-the-box decisions.
Sujatha Singh is the first foreign secretary to be removed unceremoniously after Rajiv Gandhi removed AP Venkateswaran 28 years ago in 1987.