The Parliamentary panel has noted that India’s Diplomatic Service is the most short-staffed in comparison to many other countries whose economy and stature is much leaner….reports Asian Lite News
The Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs has called for an increase in diplomatic staffing for India’s expanded international stakes.
The Committee has noted that India’s Diplomatic Service is the most short-staffed in comparison to many other countries whose economy and stature is much leaner, according to a Parliamentary Report by the External Affairs Committee. The Committee on External Affairs headed by P.P. Chaudhary presented their Twentieth Report on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of External Affairs for the year 2023-24, on Tuesday.
The total strength of 4888 is distributed across different cadres of the ministry such as the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), IFS General Cadre, Branch B, Stenographers Cadre, Interpreters Cadre, Legal & Treaties Cadre, among others.
The cadre strength of Indian Foreign Service Officers is only 1011 which is just 22.5 per cent of the total strength. Out of IFS ‘A’ cadre, 667 are posted at our Missions abroad and 334 are manning the headquarters in Delhi which at present has 57 divisions.
The Committee feel that we have far too less number of IFS “A” Officers than actually required to represent India’s interests at the Headquarters and at our Missions abroad, including various multilateral agencies.
The Committee are of the view that with the profound changes taking place in Foreign Policy, it is imperative that the cadre strength of the Ministry be commensurate with India’s expanding international stakes.
To work towards global leadership as envisaged and for executing foreign policy strategy effectively across countries, our missions must be staffed with highly skilled/trained diplomats. With the felt need of having Missions in all the UN member countries, there is an increased requirement of manpower in the diplomatic cadre, according to the committee report.
The Committee has therefore desired that the Ministry should get their cadre review done at the earliest to build capabilities for shouldering the expanded mandate while enriching the capacity of its existing personnel.
The Committee further desired that this review should primarily be based on a comparative analysis of the strength of the diplomatic corps of our country with major developing countries, countries in the neighbourhood and China.
Budget insufficient
The MEA’s budget remains insufficient despite India’s ambitions for global influence, according to the parliamentary report by External Affairs Committee.
The Committee has noted that despite its challenging mandate in making India into a leading power and influential entity among the nations of the world, MEA remains one of the least funded Central Ministries and its revised budget hovers around just 0.4 per cent of the total budgetary allocation of the Government of India since 2020-21, the Ministry of External Affairs said in its twentieth report on Demands For Grants (2023-24).
According to the External Affairs Committee report, keeping in view the magnitude and extent of India’s diplomatic outreach and foreign policy objectives, the Committee continue to feel that an allocation of at least one per cent out of the overall Budget of the GoI to the Ministry is reasonable and achievable.
The Committee, hence, have desired that the Ministry should strive to enhance its financial resources in line with its diplomatic responsibilities globally. However, the increased allocation per se without the capacity to utilize the amount would be meaningless, as per the report.
The Committee has urged the Ministry to work out a roadmap for enhancing its capacities and capabilities, whether it is in the form of structural change in the Ministry or a complete revamp of its organizational structure.
Based on the roadmap prepared, a detailed proposal may be placed before the Ministry of Finance. Steps taken in this regard may be communicated to the Committee.
Panel urges adequate funding for India’s G20 Presidency
The Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs has urged for timely and adequate funding for India’s G20 Presidency and training for personnel involved in events and Programmes.
The Committee has noted that out of the allocation of Rs 320 crore in 2022-23 for G20 India’s Presidency Summit, the expenditure incurred so far under this head is Rs 92.59 crore and an amount of Rs 990 crore has been provisioned in the BE 2023-24. The Committee understands that the BE 2023-24 allocation is not adequate based on current estimations and projections and G20 Secretariat/MEA would seek additional outlay for implementation of G20 meetings during the course of FY 2023-24, according to a Parliamentary Report by the External Affairs Committee.
The Committee on External Affairs headed by P.P. Chaudhary presented their Twentieth Report on the Demands for Grants of the Ministry of External Affairs for the year 2023-24, on Tuesday.
Being aware of the magnitude and scale of events/programmes planned all over the country during India’s G20 Presidency, the Committee expect timely availability of funds for the effective implementation of events and programmes scheduled for the current year.
The Committee, therefore, desired that the Ministry should remain vigilant and keep a close and diligent watch on the trend of expenditure while holding G20 meetings/events and make careful regular analysis for funding requirements so that a realistic projection of anticipated expenditure is arrived at well in advance and the Ministry can get the desired funds from the Ministry of Finance well on time to meet all the expenses in this regard.
The Committee has noted that the G20 Presidency is India’s most high-profile international endeavour ever. It is also a unique opportunity to present a face of leadership, diversity, success and our development template to the world.
The Committee feels that in order to showcase the best of India to the world and to live up to India’s vision of becoming ‘Viswa Guru’, each and every personnel to be engaged from the stakeholder organisations for G20 programmes needs to be groomed appropriately.
Hence, the Committee has desired that formal training for all the officials involved in the upcoming events should be held at regular intervals, in addition to inter-ministerial training and familiarisation programmes held by the G20 Secretariat.
As citizen engagement and large-scale public participation through various ‘Jan Bhagidari’ activities are also being planned and conducted across the country, follow-up training for the officials of all line Ministries as well as the Protocol Officers of States should also be conducted so that the decentralized activities and programmes are brought in alignment with the G20 initiatives and programmes.
Further, no stone should be left unturned in creating awareness among the citizens about the mission and vision of G20 to be upheld as a country before the visiting delegations. (ANI)
