Chokila Iyer


Chokila Iyer is an Indian foreign service officer and India's first female foreign secretary. She took charge on 14 March 2001 replacing Mr. Lalit Mansingh. She is a 1964 Batch Officer, a native of Darjeeling and earlier headed the Indian mission in Ireland.

After foreign services

National Commission for Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes

Iyer, after retiring from Foreign Secretary post, worked as vice chairperson of National Commission for Scheduled Areas and Scheduled Tribes. Former Chief Justice of India J.S. Verma was heading the commission, which had started functioning in October 2008.

New Broadcasting Standards Authority

On February 19, 2009 Iyer was appointed as the member of the New Broadcasting Standards Authority. The authority was commissioned to implement a code of ethics and broadcasting standards for broadcasts by news channels in the country. She was given the membership, under the "eminent persons" category. to set up to enforce the code of ethics and broadcasting standards for news channels.