Story of Indian Foreign Service: A salary of Rs 350 for an IFS probationer was too big to spend in early 1950s

IFS probationers

ON SUNDAY the October 9, Happy-IFS-Day messages were in circulation in social media sites, as many in Twitter and Facebook congratulated 600 odd Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officers. “Warm wishes to my colleagues on the occasion of IFS day. May Indian Foreign Service go from strength to strength in service of the country” — was the message of India’s external affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. The day — October 9 is commemorated as Indian Foreign Service Day, as it was the day in 1946 the then government had approved…

IFS Day: New Delhi skips celebration; Indian High Commission in Islamabad marks the day by planting a sapling…

Top IFS officer Jaishankar with external affairs minister

ON FRIDAY, official spokesperson of the ministry of external affairs (MEA) Vikas Swarup tweeted a collage of photos with a caption: “A day for the diplomats. It was 69 years ago to this day, that the then Cabinet created the #IndianForeignService”. Yes, the October 9 is the Indian Foreign Service Day, and it’s a day for 600-strong IFS officers posted mainly in about 162 Indian missions located across the world. There was no celebration in New Delhi, but in Islamabad, the Indian…