scorecardresearch
Saturday, August 9, 2025
TopicIndian foreign service

Topic: indian foreign service

Understaffed MEA slowing down India’s sprint towards ‘Vishwa Guru’ status, but needle may be moving

With 1,011 officers across 137 countries, India has around the same cadre of diplomats as smaller countries, like New Zealand & Singapore.

‘GOAT of foreign service’ turns 100. MK Rasgotra was Nehru’s aide & critic, gave Chanakyapuri its name

Rasgotra has seen the transformation of Indian foreign policy from Independence to the 1990s. The most notable was his tenure as foreign secretary from May 1982 to January 1985.

IFS officer Pranay Verma appointed India’s new ambassador to Bangladesh

As he had been serving as India's envoy to Vietnam, Sandeep Arya will now fill the post as the next Ambassador of India to Vietnam.

Govt owes Indians an explanation. Or its gag order & pension rule can be seen as blackmail

Retired officials’ freedom of expression has been threatened by empowering the government to withhold pension even before 'guilt' is established.

K Shankar Bajpai, India’s former envoy to US, China and Pakistan, dies at 92

Former IFS officer K Shankar Bajpai was born into a family of diplomats, and after serving the country, went on to become a noted academic.

India wants to be Vishwa Guru but IFS gets too few diplomats to take us there

Only 24 officers were recruited to the IFS in this year’s UPSC exam, and officials and former diplomats say there’s a host of reasons why.

50% IAS, IFS recruits are children of govt servants. But this is a story of their merit

Of the civil servants who have taken the foundation course at LBSNAA since 2014, at least 50% come from families with a govt service background, data shows.

How capable is India’s foreign policy — IFS officers cover the base but MEA needs fixing

India is relatively strong at the level of individual competence but weak at the organisational and systemic levels.

On Camera

Bank nationalisation will be a blow to India’s mixed economy, lead to totalitarianism: Phiroze Shroff

If banks were to be nationalised, politicians would start interfering with bank officials and put undue pressure on them, Prof Shroff wrote in 1963.

Go Swadeshi—RSS affiliate SJM calls for boycott of US firms Amazon, Walmart after Trump’s tariff hike

New Delhi: The day after the US imposed a 50 percent trade tariff on India, RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has made an...

Shadow war over India’s defence procurement on social media raises concerns of dodgy & undue influence

One such website has drawn particular scrutiny for spreading fake stories that have upset not only the Indian but also foreign defence firms by falsely attributing misinformation.

Modi’s ready to risk it all for farmers. Farm reform can answer Trump with new Green Revolution

Standing up to America is usually not a personal risk for a leader in India. Any suggestions of foreign pressure unites India behind who they see as leading them in that fight.