Ministry of External Affairs
- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is the primary agency directly concerned with foreign affairs. Formally, it is responsible for foreign policymaking, the actual implementation of policy, and the daily conduct of international relations.
- The Secretariat staff of the Foreign Ministry provides information and analysis to the Prime Minister and Minister of External Affairs, recommends specific measures when necessary, plans policy for the future, and maintains regular communications with foreign missions located in India and Indian missions located in other countries.
- The MEA maintains 171 Indian Missions (2010) abroad, largely manned by officers of the Indian Foreign Service. The Ministry is headed by a Cabinet Minister and is assisted by the Deputy Foreign Minister. The Foreign Service Training Institute, New Delhi (established in 1986) provides training for officers of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
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- The training provided by the Foreign Service Training Institute covers a basic professional course, a comprehensive course in diplomacy and international relations, a refresher course for commercial representatives, and training in foreign languages.
- The administrative structure of the MEA consists of two types of divisions - territorial divisions and functional divisions. It has thirteen territorial divisions, each covering a large area of the world. Each division is responsible for policy coordination in its respective area.
- The MEA also has functional divisions dealing with external publicity, protocol, consular affairs, Indians abroad, the United Nations (UN) and other international organizations, and international conferences.
- Three functional divisions deserve special mention due to their growing importance in India’s foreign policy.
- The Policy Planning and Research Division is responsible for conducting research and preparing briefs and background papers for policymakers. The background papers provide information on various issues related to international developments.
- The briefs cover wide-ranging issues relating to India’s foreign policy and its role in the changing international environment, the Economic Division has the responsibility of managing and conducting foreign economic relations. In the age of globalization, the economic division has become very important.
- Its activities reflect changes in the government’s economic policy and the international economic environment. It established the Economic Coordination Unit in 1990 to assess the impact of the Persian Gulf crisis arising from Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, changes in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union, and the formation of a single market in the European Countries and other similar changes having an impact on India. It also tries to promote foreign investment in India.
- The Economic Division also runs and coordinates India’s foreign aid programs, including the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation Programme (ITEC), and the Special Commonwealth African Assistance Programme, the ITEC programme was launched in 1964. It is the flagship programme of India for economic cooperation with developing countries.
- The Public Diplomacy division was established in 2006 to initiate programmes for enlisting popular domestic and international support to India’s foreign policy measures. The broad mandate of this division is to organize outreach activities inside and outside India to effectively project India’s foreign policy to the wider public. It works in close collaboration with researchers, think-tanks, civil society, media, and industry to attain its objectives. It also supports TRACK II interactions with other countries. TRACK II diplomacy refers to the involvement of non-official members and groups in the conduct of foreign relations.
- The Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) and Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) are also run by the MEA. The ICCR arranges exhibits, visits, and cultural exchanges with other countries and oversees the activities of foreign cultural centers in India. The ICWA aims to develop a think-tank and works as an important platform for discussion on various aspects of foreign affairs of India. Read More on ICCR- Indian Council For Cultural Relations , visit the linked page.
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Other Government Agencies:
Apart from the PMO and MEA, other Union Government agencies also play a significant role in foreign policy-making. The Ministries of Defence, Commerce, and Finance provide input to foreign policy decision-making. In the current context, the input provided by these ministries has an important bearing on foreign policy. However, it is the Prime Minister or his office, the PMO, which coordinates the role of various Union Government agencies in foreign policymaking. The debate in Parliament on foreign affairs and issues also gives input to foreign Policymaking in India. But the role of Parliament is limited in practical terms. The international treaties and agreements signed by the government become legally binding but these do not become part of domestic law unless passed by an act of Parliament. The Committee on External Affairs of the Lok Sabha is an important link between the Parliament and the Cabinet. It is a deliberative body on foreign affairs.
Political Parties and Interest Groups
Given that India is a functioning democracy, the role of political parties, media, and other interest groups in foreign policymaking is gaining attention. National political parties articulate their foreign policy perspectives in their manifestoes released during the elections. The ideology of parties affects their foreign policy perspective. For instance, Communist Parties do not support close strategic relations with the US and other western countries. The Bharatiya Janata Party supports nuclear power and the policy of liberalization. During the Janata Party government in 1977, there was a move to go for genuine non-alignment, which meant reducing close relations with the Soviet Union. It appears that political parties in India have developed a broad consensus in favour of globalization. More recently in 2008, the Communist Parties opposed the nuclear deal with the US and withdrew support from the Congress government. Although the government survived the vote of no-confidence, the nuclear deal became a contentious issue among the political parties in India.
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International issues receive considerable attention in media and academic circles, but the views expressed by journalists and scholars in these publications do not have much impact on foreign policy-making. Interest groups related to foreign relations are less organized or articulate in India. Of late, the role of business groups like FICCI and others has become more pronounced. Invariably these groups form the part of government delegations to foreign countries. There are certain lobbies in media and academic circles supporting close relations with certain countries, but such lobbies have a very limited impact on foreign policymaking in India.
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