Cabinet clears expansion of external affairs ministry

India's News.Net
Thursday 21st August, 2008 (IANS)

With India's stature and role on the world stage growing, the cabinet Thursday approved an expansion of the external affairs ministry over 10 years by creating additional posts of officers and support staff.

'The cabinet has decided to create 139 posts of officers and 110 posts of additional staff,' Information and Broadcasting Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters after a cabinet meeting here chaired by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

'This will strengthen our diplomatic representation,' Dasmunsi said.

The present strength of the Indian Foreign Service is estimated to be around 600 officers, manning around 162 Indian missions and posts abroad.

Around 15-20 officers are inducted in the IFS every year.

The expansion of the ministry comes at a time when India is rapidly enlarging its global footprint and the country is increasingly perceived as a rising economic power.

The move is also part of a broader plan to bring diplomacy in tune with emerging global realities in a post-Cold War world and to face pressing problems like international terrorism and global warming.

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