The President of India has used the powers under Article 80(1)(a) of the Constitution to nominate four eminent individuals to the Rajya Sabha. The new members are former foreign secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla, senior public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam, historian Dr. Meenakshi Jain and Kerala-based educator and social worker C. Sadanandan Master. Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed the appointments, praising Shringla’s role in shaping India’s foreign policy and steering the country’s 2023 G-20 presidency. He lauded Nikam’s decades-long pursuit of high-profile criminal cases, described Jain as a scholar whose research has enriched historical discourse, and called Sadanandan Master a symbol of courage and grassroots activism. Opposition Congress leader Ramesh Chennithala acknowledged the President’s prerogative to nominate members but argued that past practice favoured figures from the arts and sciences rather than government insiders. The four nominees will fill existing vacancies in the 245-seat upper chamber once they take the oath of office.