Ministry of External Affairs (India)

History

The Ministry was initially the Ministry of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, a holdover from the British Raj. It was renamed the Ministry of External Affairs in 1948. Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held the portfolio as an additional charge till his death in 1964 and it was only then that a separate Minister with Cabinet rank was appointed. The ministry is responsible for the administration of Naga Hills, Tuensang Area, the Emigration Act of 1983, the Reciprocity Act of 1943, the Port Haj Committee Act of 1932, the Indian Merchant Shipping Act in so far as it relates to pilgrim ships, the Indian Pilgrim Shipping Rules of 1933, the Protection of Pilgrims Act of 1887 (Bombay) and the Protection of the Mohammedan Pilgrims Act of 1896 (Bengal).

The Ministry was integrated with Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs on 7 January 2016. The government said that the decision was taken in line with government's "overall objective of minimizing government and maximizing governance" and that it will help the government address duplication as well as unnecessary delays.

The Ministry is the cadre-controlling authority of the Indian Foreign Service; the service is wholly under the administration and supervision of the External Affairs Ministry.

Organizational structure

The Ministry of External Affairs is headed by the Minister of External Affairs (or simply, the Foreign Minister; in ).The Foreign Secretary is the most senior civil servant who is the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs, and is supported by other secretary level officers.

Source: Ministry of External Affairs (India)

Development Partnership Administration

Development Partnership Administration (DPA) is an agency under the Ministry of External Affairs formed in 2013 to increase its strategic footprint and for the effective execution of projects with professionals from diverse backgrounds. India has an elaborate project portfolio in its neighbourhood, including Bhutan, Nepal, Afghanistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh, as well as Africa and Latin America. It is headed by Sujata Mehta, one of India's foremost diplomats and former Indian representative to the UN Conference on Disarmament, Geneva. Mehta is Special Secretary in the MEA. According to OECD estimates, 2019 official development assistance from India increased to US$1.6 billion.

Location

The office of the Ministry is located in the South Block building which also contains the Prime Minister's office and Ministry of Defence. Other offices are located in Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan, Shastri Bhawan, Patiala House, and ISIL Building.

Parliamentary Standing Committee

Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs is mandated with the task of the legislative oversight of the Ministry of External Affairs.

In March 2023, the committee in its Demand for Grants (2023–24) report, criticized the ministry for being "most short-staffed" and under-budgeted. The committee highlighted that The total strength of 4,888 is distributed across different cadres of the Ministry such as the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), IFS General Cadre, IFS Group B, Stenographers Cadre, Interpreters Cadre, Legal and Treaties Cadre, among others. The cadre strength of Indian Foreign Service Officers is only 1,011, just 22.5 percent of the total strength. Out of IFS 'A' cadre, 667 are posted at the Missions abroad and 334 are manning the headquarters in Delhi, which currently has 57 divisions. The committee also highlighted that the ministry “remains one amongst the least funded central ministries” as its actual annual spending has been around 0.4% of the total budgetary allocation of the government since 2020–21.

List of operations by the Ministry of External Affairs (India)

This is a list of major operations carried out by the Ministry of External Affairs (India).

Notes

References

References

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19. "Nepal quake: India launches 'Operation Maitri', airlifts many". hindustantimes.com/.
20. [https://www.mea.gov.in/press-releases.htm?dtl/30461/Operation_Samudra_Maitri_Indias_Assistance_to_Earthquake_and_Tsunami_affected_areas_in_Indonesia Operation Samudra Maitri: India's Assistance to Earthquake and Tsunami affected areas in Indonesia] Ministry of External Affairs, India 3 October 2018
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22. "Taliban want resumption of flights between India and Afghanistan, write to DGCA {{!}} Exclusive".
23. (2022-02-27). "Operation Ganga: Air India's second flight carrying 250 Indian evacuees from Ukraine lands in Delhi". Firstpost.
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25. (24 April 2023). "India launches Operation Kaveri to evacuate its nationals from Sudan".
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32. "India Launches 'Operation Sindhu' To Rescue Stranded Citizens From War-Hit Iran".
33. (3 December 2025). "Operation Sagar Bandhu: Indian Army contingent lands in Sri Lanka for humanitarian assistance".