BY RAVI R. PONANGI

Atlanta: After completing three years of service as Consul General of India in Houston, Skand Rajan Tayal is assuming charge as India’s Ambassador to Uzbekistan and will be stationed in Tashkent from beginning of September.

His had earlier served in the Indian Embassies in Sofia, Warsaw, Geneva and Moscow. He has been in Foreign Service since 1976. He is a graduate in chemistry from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, and an associate of the Indian Forest College, Dehradun. He has published several research papers in the international chemical journals.

Skand Tayal as Consul General of India, Houston, worked closely with individuals, community organizations, even with mainstream dignitaries and built an image of India. He is responsive to the needs of NRI community and to the voices of community leaders. On many occasions, he recognized the positive impacts that the Indians living overseas have on various aspects of the country of their origin.

He had taken a special interest in getting the statue of Mahatma Gandhi installed in Houston last year. The phenomenal success of Houston International Festival was the result of two years of preparations initiated by Skand Tayal.

The Indian community in Atlanta organized a farewell party in honor of Consul General on July 6.