India's Foreign Service Crisis: Big Dreams, Thin Cast

Understaffed, or Underutilised Staff?

바카라�India could have done much more with the international media through our missions abroad. That coverage and concentration was selective, and if the missions are better staffed, we can, of course, speak and interact with the international media much better,바카라� says Anil Wadhwa, former Secretary (East) at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), who has served as the Indian Ambassador to Italy, Poland, Oman and Thailand. He adds that 바카라�the Indian narrative was put out in a coordinated manner by the Indian foreign service along with the armed forces.바카라�

In December 2024, India announced it would expand its 850-strong foreign service by 200 employees over the next five years. These plans came with the MEA바카라�s acknowledgement that the country바카라�s diplomatic corps were 바카라�short-staffed.바카라� In comparison, as of 2024, China had over 5,000 diplomats and support personnel.

While the addition of 200 employees reflects India바카라�s global ambitions of becoming one of the largest economic powers in the world, several experts who study international affairs point out that diplomatic corps are not just about quantity but also quality바카라�the calibre of staff members and their ability to navigate an ever-evolving geopolitical landscape also matter.

According to Talmiz Ahmad, former Indian Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, the right question to ask is not whether the IFS has the proper number of officers but whether 바카라�the service is being utilised properly.바카라� He adds that the answer is: 바카라�No.바카라�

바카라�In every foreign service, when you are posted abroad, you must have complete clarity about what you are required to do. Then you should be assessed on the basis of the quality of work you deliver,바카라� he explains, adding that in his vast experience with the IFS, officers 바카라�don바카라�t know what they are supposed to be doing. They are not very often told what the yardstick is for evaluation.바카라�

The real issue with the IFS, according to Ahmad, is that of quality and leadership in missions abroad.

The 2023바카라�24 Demand for Grants report has called India바카라�s diplomatic service 바카라�perhaps the most short-staffed바카라� among all the major global powers. According to the report, only 22.5 per cent of the MEA바카라�s 4,888-strong workforce are IFS 바카라�A바카라� officers, meaning many of the country바카라�s missions are running on skeleton staff, with a severe lack of top leadership.

In March 2025, a Lok Sabha reply confirmed that 6,277 personnel were deployed against sanctioned slots. While this is smaller than other countries, it marks an improvement for India from previous years. The report further noted that uneven staff distribution poses major challenges, especially in remote postings and conflict zones.

Ahmad recalls his time in the IFS and says: 바카라�It is a matter of embarrassment for me that even 50 years after I joined service, even today, I hear my young colleagues are very keen to go to European stations and Western stations.바카라�

He adds that there is a 바카라�reluctance바카라� among officers to be posted 바카라�in the neighbouring countries, in Southeast Asia, in the Gulf, Central Asia, Africa.바카라� These are seen as 바카라�punishment postings, he says.

While the MEA has announced plans to add to the number of foreign postings, there is no public data available on which specific postings remain vacant in other countries. Wadhwa also notes that while India is continuously increasing its IFS recruitment and the MEA 바카라�must sanction additional posts to man our headquarters,바카라� India has also had to open a number of missions in Africa and Latin America and faces a shortage of personnel.

New Delhi바카라�s decision to restructure its foreign service comes at a time when India is grappling with several diplomatic challenges, including the most recent escalation with Pakistan following the deadly April 22 Pahalgam terror attack. India is also facing increasingly strained relations with its subcontinental neighbours, including those it has historically shared cooperative ties with, such as Afghanistan and Bangladesh. The decision to restructure came on the heels of last year바카라�s controversy with Canada involving the death of a Khalistani movement leader in Quebec, and the death penalty imposed on eight Indian nationals by Qatar.

While the Indian government has not made any public statements about the reason for the expansion or the long-standing issue of the Indian foreign services being chronically short-staffed, the overhaul was initiated after recommendations from a parliamentary committee in March last year.

Prime Minister Modi has consistently stated that India aspires to be one of the leaders of the global order. This is reflected in the term Vishwaguru, coined by the PM바카라�s advisors to indicate that he aims for India to be a global guiding force. However, a severe shortage of manpower in diplomatic resources바카라�both staff and overseas missions바카라�often undermines this goal.

India is not just the most populous country in the world, it also has the largest diaspora. However, in terms of diplomatic missions, the country does not rank among the top 10 nations.

The United States Department of State has 271 diplomatic posts globally, supported by 14,399 Foreign Service employees, 12,831 Civil Service staff and 50,703 locally employed personnel. The United Kingdom employs 17,532 people worldwide as of 2023바카라�24, with around 47 per cent UK-based and 53 per cent country-based, across a network of 281 offices. China바카라�s 바카라�Wolf Warrior바카라� policy is reflected in numbers as well: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Beijing has the world바카라�s largest diplomatic network of 274 foreign posts바카라�173 embassies, 91 consulates and 10 missions to international organisations바카라�as of 2024, staffed by over 5,000 diplomats and support personnel.

This means the US has ten times as many foreign postings as India; the UK바카라�s budget of £12.1 billion dwarfs India바카라�s 0.5 per cent share in the Union budget; and China바카라�s diplomatic reach is in a different league altogether.

Of the 1,177 sanctioned slots for India바카라�s IFS 바카라�A바카라� officers, only 667 are posted overseas and 334 remain at headquarters. In addition, there is a complementary staff of 3,499 IFS 바카라�B바카라� officers from feeder services, including interpreters, legal experts and locally engaged staff, bringing the total to 6,277 personnel abroad. This leaves many missions with a severe lack of IFS 바카라�A바카라� officers. Overall, India has 850 officers across 193 diplomatic posts worldwide, and only 35 recruits join the IFS each year. The foreign ministry is among the least-funded ministries in India.

A Dilettante Service That Lacks Specialisation

As most IFS postings are not long-term, missions often lack personnel who are specialists in important countries or subjects, says Ahmed. He adds that this is very different from other global powers such as China, which prioritises specialist knowledge over multiple postings. Besides MEA policy, this also stems from officers바카라� ambitions to obtain postings in developed nations, which are considered premium, he says.

바카라�The British service, the American service, Russian, Chinese, French, German... I know firsthand바카라�all of them are specialists. So, why is there no specialisation in our country? Because our people are desperate to go to developed countries, where we are not really needed,바카라� he says.

Wadhwa also points out that 바카라�the ministry needs to beef up its multilateral as well as bilateral divisions, its external publicity division and the policy planning division. It needs to post more IFS personnel to the ministries of defence, commerce, petroleum and science and technology to ensure the required diplomatic interface. The disarmament and new technologies divisions, as well as the cyber security division, need more specialised manpower.바카라�

Demoralised Staff and Internal Politics

Recalling his own service, Ahmed says he came under fire for expressing the desire to specialise in the UAE and remain in Riyadh after 9/11.

Speaking about his tenure as Indian ambassador to Riyadh during the 9/11 attacks, he says: 바카라�As I watched the towers come down, I realised this event is going to reverberate for several decades to come. And it will impinge on India바카라�s interests. I took a considered view not to leave the region.바카라�

Ahmed told ministry officials and the foreign secretary that he wanted to remain in the region because of his interest, knowledge and expertise, and that his services should be properly utilised so he could further develop them.

Then he adds: 바카라�The first thing they did, the first thing바카라�as soon as I finished Riyadh in 2003바카라�I was posted to Zimbabwe. This is exactly what happened.바카라�

He says the attitude in the ministry is not conducive to developing in-depth knowledge of countries or specialist IFS officers. 바카라�The thing is, it바카라�s because you asked. 바카라�Oh, so you want specialisation, do you? How dare he want to do this specialisation with us?바카라� This is the attitude,바카라� says Ahmed.

Operation Sindoor and the Global Backlash

While domestically Operation Sindoor is considered a tactical success, on the world stage it has been severely undermined by India바카라�s limited diplomatic strength. New Delhi struggled to shape the narrative globally. Briefings on the operation reached only 70 countries and were late to begin with.

Meanwhile, outlets such as China Global Times and Pakistan바카라�s diplomatic channels solidified the anti-India narrative through loud condemnation of the airstrikes that followed the Pahalgam terror attack. The silence of India바카라�s formerly friendly neighbours such as Bangladesh and allies such as Russia also spoke volumes.

Canada, Qatar, Afghanistan

In 2024, India and Canada were at loggerheads over the June 2023 murder of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a pro-Khalistan leader, in Surrey, British Columbia. Former Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau alleged that India was involved in the murder, a claim vehemently denied by India. Canadian authorities arrested four Indian nationals in connection with the case but later released them pending trial, which is moving at a snail바카라�s pace.

During the face-off, Ottawa expelled six Indian diplomats, leaving India with only two consulates and one high commission in Canada. This shone a spotlight on how understaffed Indian missions abroad were, as it left New Delhi with no recourse or means to retaliate.

When Qatar sentenced eight former Indian naval officers to death, India바카라�s High Commission in Doha could barely sustain legal advocacy or manage media briefings. This was unsurprising, as the mission had only one additional officer per 100,000 members of the Indian diaspora.

On November 29, days after the Afghan embassy in Delhi announced it had shut down for good, the Taliban administration declared that the diplomatic mission would soon reopen. Reports from Afghanistan stated that the country바카라�s diplomatic staff in India, loyal to the previous administration, had resigned from their posts.

Avantika Mehta is a senior associate editor based in New Delhi

This article is part of Outlook바카라�s 1 June 2025 issue, 'Gated Neighbourhood', which examines the state of diplomacy, media, and democracy in the wake of the ceasefire. It appeared in print as 'Big Dream, Thin Cast.'