More foreign hands

Recruiting from the rest of the govt is a band-aid IFS needs more ambitious growth plansThe foreign offices search,as reported in this paper,for officers from other government departments and agencies to implement projects in Indias near and extended neighbourhood,has not been very successful. South Block is probably looking at the wrong places. If the purpose is to boost Indias project diplomacy,the foreign office should be recruiting talent from the private sector that has rich experience investing in Indias neighbourhood and beyond. If the domestic record of our government agencies in project implementation is so terrible,why should South Block inflict them on others?

But that the Foreign Office needs more hands is not in doubt. Four years ago,the Ministry of External Affairs had sought to double the size of the Indian Foreign Service over a decade. Its current strength stands at around 800 officers about the same as Singapore with a population of barely five million. China,a better benchmark for India,has more than 6000 diplomats. The government in its wisdom sanctioned about 500 additional posts and the MEA has begun to increase its annual intake. This limited expansion underway is inadequate to manage Indias rapidly accelerating political and economic engagement with the world.

Recruiting from the rest of the government is at best a band-aid and the IFS needs more ambitious growth plans. Since the shortfall between demand and supply cant be met overnight,South Block must embark on lateral recruitment from the business,academic and cultural sectors. The foreign office could outsource much of its tertiary work and mobilise the private sector to implement projects abroad. All bold ideas on expanding and modernising Indias foreign service,however,will run up against the brick wall of the Indian Administrative Service,which zealously guards its stranglehold over the nations permanent bureaucracy. The many core functions of the Indian state diplomatic,policing,judicial services,defence and revenue collection are outside the IAS domain and woefully undermanned. Meanwhile the IAS presides over a vast empire. Without the political will to strike at the skewed bureaucratic structure,the government will be condemned to incompetence for a long time.