Wednesday, 28 May 2014 |
TRIDIVESH SINGH MAINI & SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY |
While it is not mandatory to follow only the existing models from other countries, India could at least make a start by adopting some of the successful approaches that the other countries use for their Foreign Services, write TRIDIVESH SINGH MAINI & SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY
In a country where ‘reform’ is a favourite word used frequently in the media and by the people who discuss and debate the need for economic changes, police reforms and judicial reforms etc, there is not much discussion on the need for reforms in the foreign service of the country. There has been little discussion on this area in the public domain. The Indian Foreign Service is often perceived by the ordinary citizen as a service more for the elite class in India which has access to the corridors of power. This perception needs to change.
The Pillai Committee in 1966 undertook one of the most comprehensive exercises since Independence to reform the Indian Foreign Service. Very little of the recommendations the committee made have been implemented till date. Mr Shyam Saran, as former Foreign Secretary to the Union Government, tried to reform the service by moving the Cabinet for expanding the cadre strength along with other structural and administrative reforms.
One of the biggest problems the Union Ministry of External Affairs faces is the severe understaffing in the ministry. Among the major countries in the world today, India has the smallest diplomatic corps. India, with around 900 Indian Foreign Service officers to staff India’s missions and consulates abroad, is also the lowest among the other emerging powers as well. China is known to have more than 4,000 Foreign Service officers, while Brazil has around 1,200. Japan, which is a much smaller country in terms of area and has a much lower population compared to India, has the largest Foreign Services in Asia, with around 5,500 members.
India, which has the second largest population in the world and also has one of the largest bureaucracies in the world, has a small diplomatic corps which is equal to that of Singapore. Contrast this with the European countries which have a sizable diplomatic staff, or the US which has a massive size of 20,000 foreign service personnel deployed worldwide to look after their missions.
It shows the seriousness and importance these countries give to their Foreign Service by having a sizeable diplomatic staff. Some of the reforms suggested over the years were to bring in lateral entry into the Foreign Service, get experts who have specialised in certain areas such as climate change, trade and commerce, etc. These ideas have run into troubled waters with different power centres.
There is not much coordination between different ministries. As a result, the diplomatic corps feels handicapped. Also, the not-so-compatible relationship between the IAS and the Foreign Service often leads to stagnation or delay.
There are many reasons given as to why the Indian Foreign Service is not ready for the reforms that have been suggested by various experts. One of the major reasons stated is that the Indian Foreign Service officers feel they may further lose their prominence to the other services if they bring about some of the reforms suggested, such as the lateral entry in the Foreign Service.
Some reports and articles in the media have spoken about the fall in preference for the Indian Foreign Service, as it is no longer the first preference given by many who end up joining the service. Most of them prefer the Indian Administrative Service or even the Indian Revenue Service over the Foreign Service. Many aspirants end up joining the Foreign Service as they don’t qualify for the other services of their choice. Also, another interesting trend that has been noticed is that most people joining the Indian Foreign Service had a background in engineering and natural sciences, while there was hardly anyone from the social sciences background.
It was noticed that those who gave the Indian Foreign Service as their first choice were more from the social sciences or liberal arts background than the others who gave preference to the other services over the Foreign Service. The cause of concern here is that people getting into the Indian Foreign Service are not primarily interested in joining the Foreign Service.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs does not have even a mission statement or a strategic plan for a certain time-frame. India can take a cue from the US State Department, which does have a strategic plan for a certain time-frame of around five years or more.
While it is not mandatory to follow only the existing models from other countries, India could at least make a start by adopting some of the successful approaches that the other countries use for their Foreign Services.
(Tridivesh Singh Maini is associated with the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal GlobalUniversity, Sonepat. Sridhar Ramaswamy is a final year Master’s student of Foreign Policy at the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat)
TRIDIVESH SINGH MAINI & SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY |
While it is not mandatory to follow only the existing models from other countries, India could at least make a start by adopting some of the successful approaches that the other countries use for their Foreign Services, write TRIDIVESH SINGH MAINI & SRIDHAR RAMASWAMY
In a country where ‘reform’ is a favourite word used frequently in the media and by the people who discuss and debate the need for economic changes, police reforms and judicial reforms etc, there is not much discussion on the need for reforms in the foreign service of the country. There has been little discussion on this area in the public domain. The Indian Foreign Service is often perceived by the ordinary citizen as a service more for the elite class in India which has access to the corridors of power. This perception needs to change.
The Pillai Committee in 1966 undertook one of the most comprehensive exercises since Independence to reform the Indian Foreign Service. Very little of the recommendations the committee made have been implemented till date. Mr Shyam Saran, as former Foreign Secretary to the Union Government, tried to reform the service by moving the Cabinet for expanding the cadre strength along with other structural and administrative reforms.
One of the biggest problems the Union Ministry of External Affairs faces is the severe understaffing in the ministry. Among the major countries in the world today, India has the smallest diplomatic corps. India, with around 900 Indian Foreign Service officers to staff India’s missions and consulates abroad, is also the lowest among the other emerging powers as well. China is known to have more than 4,000 Foreign Service officers, while Brazil has around 1,200. Japan, which is a much smaller country in terms of area and has a much lower population compared to India, has the largest Foreign Services in Asia, with around 5,500 members.
India, which has the second largest population in the world and also has one of the largest bureaucracies in the world, has a small diplomatic corps which is equal to that of Singapore. Contrast this with the European countries which have a sizable diplomatic staff, or the US which has a massive size of 20,000 foreign service personnel deployed worldwide to look after their missions.
It shows the seriousness and importance these countries give to their Foreign Service by having a sizeable diplomatic staff. Some of the reforms suggested over the years were to bring in lateral entry into the Foreign Service, get experts who have specialised in certain areas such as climate change, trade and commerce, etc. These ideas have run into troubled waters with different power centres.
There is not much coordination between different ministries. As a result, the diplomatic corps feels handicapped. Also, the not-so-compatible relationship between the IAS and the Foreign Service often leads to stagnation or delay.
There are many reasons given as to why the Indian Foreign Service is not ready for the reforms that have been suggested by various experts. One of the major reasons stated is that the Indian Foreign Service officers feel they may further lose their prominence to the other services if they bring about some of the reforms suggested, such as the lateral entry in the Foreign Service.
Some reports and articles in the media have spoken about the fall in preference for the Indian Foreign Service, as it is no longer the first preference given by many who end up joining the service. Most of them prefer the Indian Administrative Service or even the Indian Revenue Service over the Foreign Service. Many aspirants end up joining the Foreign Service as they don’t qualify for the other services of their choice. Also, another interesting trend that has been noticed is that most people joining the Indian Foreign Service had a background in engineering and natural sciences, while there was hardly anyone from the social sciences background.
It was noticed that those who gave the Indian Foreign Service as their first choice were more from the social sciences or liberal arts background than the others who gave preference to the other services over the Foreign Service. The cause of concern here is that people getting into the Indian Foreign Service are not primarily interested in joining the Foreign Service.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs does not have even a mission statement or a strategic plan for a certain time-frame. India can take a cue from the US State Department, which does have a strategic plan for a certain time-frame of around five years or more.
While it is not mandatory to follow only the existing models from other countries, India could at least make a start by adopting some of the successful approaches that the other countries use for their Foreign Services.
(Tridivesh Singh Maini is associated with the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal GlobalUniversity, Sonepat. Sridhar Ramaswamy is a final year Master’s student of Foreign Policy at the Jindal School of International Affairs, OP Jindal Global University, Sonepat)
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