How diplomats are perceived, and what they are? Ex-foreign secretary Nirupama Rao explains it during a UNESCO talk

“We as diplomats like to see ourselves as change makers and pace setters in the corridors of government and in the ecosphere of statecraft. Of course, as the skeptics might say, conditions apply”, said former foreigner secretary of India Nirupama Rao during a recent talk in UNESCO. Rao at the begging of her speech on the subject titled “Diplomacy in the age of social media”, said how diplomacy is a fine art, an heir to…

Mega IFS Reshuffle: Akbaruddin new Indian envoy to UN; Vijay Gokhale to be Indian ambassador to China

Diplomat Akbaruddin trying a selfie with PM Modi (File Photo)

IN A major reshuffle, a number of diplomats are set to take up new assignments. Many a key mission such as Beijing, London, Moscow, Islamabad and Tokyo will now have new diplomats at the helm. Here are the 12 diplomats and their new postings:

IFS gets “hidden treasure” in Beno Zephine; 10 things to know about India’s first visually challenged diplomat

Beno Zephine being felicitated in DoPT

DURING the last few days senior ministers in the corridors felicitated a 25-year-old girl from Tamil Nadu. She is Beno Zephine. Literally, Beno means daughter of God and Zephine means hidden treasure. Yes, Indian Foreign Service gets a “hidden treasure” when Beno Zephine became the first 100 per cent visually challenged person to be inducted into the country's elite foreign service. Here are 10 things you may like to know about Beno Zephine.

33 Indian diplomats, 1,150 years of experience in IFS and a book on diplomacy

WHEN 33 Indian diplomats who have collectively put in more than 1,150 years in Indian Foreign Service (IFS) decide to pen a book, the final product is bound to be a treasure of thoughts and ideas on international relations and contemporary history. The book titled “India and the World – Through the eyes of Indian Diplomats” edited by former IFS officer Surendra Kumar, is said to be a “healthy cocktail of reflections and reminiscences, hardnosed analysis and…

How mythological figures like Hanuman and Vibheeshana can help an Indian diplomat? A book on Applied Diplomacy

THIS book written by a former diplomat and curated by an IAS officer is a ready reckoner for young diplomats. “Applied Diplomacy through the Prism of Mythology” released on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram establishes a link between diplomacy and mythology. Written by former ambassador TP Sreenivasan, and curated by 2014 batch IAS officer…

Diplomats are judged by their presentation and physical appearance, says Hamid Ansari

Ansari (right) with a section of 2012 batch IFS

INDIA’S vice-president and former diplomat M Hamid Ansari has said diplomats are judged by their presentation and also by physical appearance. While addressing 36 officer trainees of 2012 batch IFS in New Delhi on Wednesday, Ansari further added that service conditions of Indian Foreign Service (IFS) have also become…

Devyani Khobragade case creates a deep crater in Indo-US bilateral ties, says Nirupama Rao; Rao's 8-point argument

Rao with US President Obama

DIPLOMAT Nirupama Rao who till recently was India’s ambassador to US has said that Devyani Khobragade case has created a deep crater in the Indo-US bilateral relationship. “Was the much vaunted defining partnership between the two countries so inconsequential that US decided to treat whole case as routine?” Rao who was also the foreign secretary said in a social media site. Here are eight tweets that Rao posted on the row on Friday.

Meet diplomat Shashi Kant Sharma; how CAG garnered votes of China, Pakistan against US backed candidate

Comptroller and Auditor General of India and former IAS officer of 1976 batch, Shashi Kant Sharma, will now get access for audit of the UN organizations including UN peacekeeping operations, after he was elected on Friday as Member of the United Nations Board of Auditors for a six-year-term. America did not want Indian CAG getting that prestigious berth, and backed Philippines instead. But Sharma personally led the canvassing and impressed the global diplomatic community to vote in favour of India. Sharma managed to woo among others…

Govt acknowledges global Indians’ woes to access RTI info, extends e-IPO payment mode to foreign missions

A moment in Indian Embassy in Paris

IN A major boost to the RTI movement, the government has extended the facility of e-IPO (Electronic Indian Postal Order) for payment of RTI fees to Indian citizens living abroad so as to help them getting information from 176 Indian missions and posts that come under the ministry of external affairs (MEA). An office memorandum (OM) dated October 7, 2013, also acknowledged the difficulties…

Let's not blame diplomats alone if India gets kicked around internationally

CHALLENGING TIME: Foreign Secretary Ranjan Mathai

WHEN BJP leader Arun Jaitley said in Parliament recently that India was getting “kicked around” internationally, there were gossips in corridors how IFS officers live a good life in New York, London and Paris, make lots of money, drink whisky all day, and do parties at night. But such a perception has proved…

Making of a Diplomat: Ex-envoy Prem K Budhwar’s book dispels myths

ARE diplomats a clan that begins its mornings with English breakfast and ends its day with lavish cocktail dinners? An interesting book titled “Making of a Diplomat - Hone your skills” authored by ex-Indian high commissioner to Canada Prem K Budhwar, makes an attempt to…

SM Krishna warns Indian envoys of action against financial wrong-doing

Foreign Minister Krishna

FOR the first time, Indian diplomats are warned by their boss, external affairs minister SM Krishna, to ensure transparency in all financial dealings how small the amount could be, a report in a national newspaper quoting an unnamed foreign ministry source said. They were even warned that the ministry would initiate disciplinary action against the errant officers. Importantly, the warning was formal as minister Krishna preferred to issue an official letter dated October 20, 2011 to all its ambassadors and high commissioners.

Unlike their domestic counterparts like the IAS officers, the Indian Foreign Service officers usually get away with less or no punishments after indulging in financial irregularities because of geographical and diplomatic reasons. But the recent instances of irregularities in outsourcing visa and passport processing work have forced the Indian government to take stringent actions against diplomats too. The number of complaints from non-resident Indians and others has piled up during the last few months.

The MEA has also issued a detailed guideline on procurement by Indian missions abroad. One of the senor diplomats based in The Hague is now reportedly facing a CBI investigation on a visa outsourcing procurement case.

Diplomat’s credit card misused

Indian Ambassador to Sudan AK Pandey has recently found that his credit card was fraudulently used by someone in purchasing goods worth Rs 2 lakh. It was later discovered that a man from Amritsar misused the diplomat’s credit card. The police has arrested the man.