Jaishankar was born in Delhi, India, to a prominent Indian civil servant Krishnaswamy Subrahmanyam[1][10] and Sulochana Subrahmanyam.[1] He was brought up in a Tamil Hindu family.[11] He has a sister, Sudha Subrahmanyam, and two brothers: the historian Sanjay Subrahmanyam and the IAS officer S. Vijay Kumar,[12] former Rural Development Secretary of India.[13][14]
Jaishankar did his schooling at The Air Force School, Delhi, and at Bangalore Military School, Bangalore. He then did his bachelor's degree in chemistry from St. Stephen's College, Delhi.[15] He has an MA in political science and an M.Phil. and PhD in international relations from Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), where he specialised in nuclear diplomacy