Foreign Secretary S Jaishankar (IFS:1977) will complete his extended tenure on 28 January 2018. This has triggered speculations about his successor, or whether he may be granted another extension. In January 2017, the government had amended the rules to extend Jaishankar's tenure by a year. A clutch of officers from the 1980 batch who would have a fair chance as next FS have either retired or will retire soon - including Navtaj Sarna (IFS:1980), Indian ambassador to the US, who is scheduled to retire on 31 December 2017. Technically, ambassador to China Vijay Gokhale has the brightest prospect among 04 officers from the 1981 batch. However, all calculations may go haywire if Jaishankar is granted another extension. May it be noted that the service rules stipulate a two-year fixed term for defense, home, and foreign secretaries, besides the CBI director. However, the govt has amended the rules to include that "the central government may - if deemed necessary for public interest - give an extension in service for a further period not exceeding one year… to the foreign secretary." Since there is nothing in the rulebook that prevents the government from giving another extension to Jaishankar by amending the rules further, speculations refuse to die down.