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INDIAN FOREIGN SERVICE: “Kautilyas of Bharat”

On 9 October 1946, on the eve of Indian independence, the Indian government established the Indian Foreign Service for India's diplomatic, consular and commercial representation overseas. The first batch recruited under the combined Civil Service examination system of the Union Public Service Commission joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1948 and this has remained the principal recruitment mode into IFS to this day.

FOUNDATION COURSE IN LBSNAA: “ THE JOURNEY BEGINS” On selection to the Indian Foreign Service through the combined Civil Services examination, the new entrants undergo a multi-faceted and comprehensive training. The probationers commence their training, with their colleagues from other All India Services, at the Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration, Mussourie.
FOREIGN SERVICE INSTITUE: “Where diplomats are shaped” Thereafter the probationers join the Foreign Service Institute(FSI) in New Delhi and undergo focused training in various disciplines that a career diplomat needs to familiarize himself with. The Foreign Service Institute course involves lectures and attachments with various wings of the Government as well as familiarization tours both within the country and abroad.
MEETINGS IN SOUTH BLOCK: “The Headquarters” After joining FSI, the first week is spent meeting the dignitaries in South Block. As a tradition of the service, the Officer Trainees (OT) call on the Honorable External Affairs Minister, Minister of State for External Affairs and Foreign Secretary who share their valuable insights about the increased role of Indian diplomats in the world.
CALL ON THE HONORABLE PRESIDENT : “ A PROUD MOMENT” Call on the President by the IFS 2008 batch
CALL ON THE HONORABLE PRIME MINISTER: “ANOTHER PROUD MOMENT” Call on the Honorable Prime Minister Shri Manmohan Singh by the 2010 batch. With the increasing footprint of India in the world affairs, the Ministry of External Affairs decided to increase the cadre strength. Consequent upon the policy measure, the 2011 batch was the largest batch with 34 probationers which has still increased to 36 in 2012. This is a significant increase since 1990 which had only 12 officers.
MISSION ATTACHMENT: “ FIRST EXPOSURE TO THE WORLD OF DIPLOMACY” Mission attachment is an integral part of training for the probationers of the Indian Foreign Service. The main objective of the Mission orientation program is to make Officer Trainees cognizant of the working of an Indian diplomatic mission abroad. It not only provides them an orientation about the mission and its internal organization but also gives them practical knowledge of how a Mission interacts with the other Diplomatic Missions abroad
MULTILATERAL ATTACHMENT : PMI, NEW YORK To give exposure to multilateral diplomacy, Officer Trainees are attached with the Permanent Mission of India in New York where they get the opportunity to see the working of The United Nations.
ARMY ATTACHMENT: “Diplomats flexing their muscles” The Indian Army is the largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. Being a necessary instrument of policy projection and having a role to play in foreign policy, as part of training, officer trainees are sent for an army attachment where they experience the ground realities in which Indian army operates.
NAVY ATTACHMENT: Officer trainees are also sent for naval attachment where they get to understand how the “three dimensional blue water” fleet protects the nation’s almost 8000 kms coastline, more than 300 island possessions, 2 million kms of EEZ and important sea lanes of communications which accounts for 97% of India’s external trade.
AIR FORCE ATTACHMENT: “ SKY IS THE LIMIT” The Indian Air Force is the air arm of the Indian armed forces whose primary responsibility is to secure the Indian airspace and to conduct aerial warfare during a conflict. To create awareness about the capabilities of this mighty wing, OT’s are sent for an air force attachment.
BHARAT DARSHAN:“AROUND THE COUNTRY IN 21 DAYS” Bharat Darshan, inspired by Gandhi’s Bharat Yatra to understand the plurality of the country, is an all India tour conducted annually to expose Officer Trainees to the diversity of our kaleidoscopic cultural heritage, rituals, and locales in India.
CULTURAL NIGHT :“God respects you when you work, but he loves you when you dance.” As a part of ensuring the holistic development and inculcating a sense of esprit de corps, cultural nights are regularly organized in FSI where OT’s showcase their talents.
HOLI CELEBRATIONS : Not only Officer Trainees get trained together but also celebrate together. The bonding amongst ‘batchmates’ ensures that they knit together as a family and the festivals give just one more reason to reaffirm these bonds.
CRICKET DIPLOMACY As part of training, friendly cricket match was organized between IFS probationers 2011 batch and FCC (Foreign Correspondents Club) on 13th Oct, 2013 at Modern school, New Delhi. And the obvious winners were the budding diplomats.
DESK ATTACHMENT: After the end of the training with the Foreign Service Institute, a Foreign Service Probationer is attached with a Division of the Ministry of External Affairs for a period of six months for on the job training.
LANGUAGE TRAINING: This is followed by a period of language training in the countries they choose, ranging from one to two and a half years, depending on the chosen language. During this training in the concerned country, they go by the designation of Third Secretaries. Their appointment to a particular division in the ministry depends mainly on the requirements and vacancies, though the chosen language obviously plays a key part.
“THE DIPLOMAT” : JOURNEY COMPLETED After completion of three year training and clearing the language exam conducted by Ministry of Defence(MoD) , the transition from Officer Trainee to “Diplomat” is completed with confirmation as second secretary. With the skill set acquired in the intensive training process, the groomed diplomat gets ready to represent the country , secure the national interest and foster peaceful relations.