The Indian Foreign Service (IFS) is a diplomatic service and a central civil service of the Government of India under the Ministry of External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary is the head of the service. Vikram Misri is the 35th and the current Foreign Secretary.
The Ministry of External Affairs of India is tasked with formulating and implementing Indian foreign policy,in tandem with the repatriation of Indian citizens and the extradition of fugitives. The Ministry of External Affairs is steered by the Minister of External Affairs,a minister in the PM's Cabinet.
Chonira Belliappa Muthamma was the first woman to clear the Indian Civil Services examinations. She was also the first woman to join the Indian Foreign Service. She was the first Indian woman diplomat as well. Later,she became the first Indian woman Ambassador also. She is remembered for her successful crusade for gender equality in the Indian Civil Services.
The Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (Hindi:सुषमास्वराजविदेशसेवासंस्थानis the civil service training institute in New Delhi where Indian Foreign Service officers are trained. The institute functions under the Ministry of External Affairs,Government of India.
Nirupama Menon Rao is a retired civil servant of 1973 batch Indian Foreign Service cadre who served as India's Foreign Secretary from 2009 to 2011,as well as being India's Ambassador to the United States,China and Sri Lanka during her career.
Subrahmanyam Jaishankar is an Indian diplomat and politician,who is the thirtieth Minister of External Affairs of the Government of India since 31 May 2019. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party and has been a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since 5 July 2019. He previously served as the Foreign Secretary from January 2015 to January 2018. He is the second diplomat to be appointed India's External Affairs minister,after Natwar Singh.
Devyani Khobragade is a central civil servant of Indian Foreign Service cadre. She was in the news after being charged with visa fraud when she was posted in the Indian Consul in New York City in the United States. She is currently serving as ambassador of India to Cambodia at Embassy of India,Phnom Penh.
Gautam Bambawale is an Indian diplomat and served as the Indian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2018. He had previously served as the Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan.
Sujata Mehta is a former Indian Foreign Service officer and former member of the Union Public Service Commission.
India and Togo maintain diplomatic relations. Togo opened its embassy in New Delhi in October 2010. The High Commission of India in Accra,Ghana is concurrently accredited to Togo. India also maintains an Honorary Consulate General in Lomé.
Equatorial Guinea and India maintain diplomatic relations.
Preeti Saran,born 5 September 1958,is an Indian civil servant of the Indian Foreign Service cadre 1982 batch. In December 2018,Saran was elected unopposed to the United Nations Committee on Economic,Social and Cultural Rights for a term from 1 January 2019 to 31 December 2022.
Anil Wadha;born 26 May 1957 is an Indian civil servant who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service cadre. He has served as the Indian Ambassador to Italy,Poland,Oman and Thailand. He is currently a Senior Fellow &Cluster Leader at the Vivekananda International Foundation in New Delhi.
Riva Ganguly Das is a retired Indian civil servant who belongs to the Indian Foreign Service cadre. She is the former High Commissioner of India to Bangladesh and former Director General of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations,an autonomous organisation of the Government of India.
Reenat Sandhu is a retired Indian diplomat and former ambassador of India to the Netherlands. She had previously served as Secretary West in the Ministry of External Affairs and as the Indian Ambassador to Italy and San Marino.
Samuel Arthur Odoi-Sykes is a Ghanaian politician,diplomat and lawyer. He served as Ghana's High Commissioner to Canada from 2001 to 2006 and Deputy High Commissioner to the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1972. He was National Chairman of the New Patriotic Party from 1998 to 2001 during which the party won its first presidential victory. In the Third Republic,he was Member of Parliament for Ashiedu Keteke from 1979 to 1981 and Minority Leader of Parliament from 1980 to 1981.
A. Gitesh Sarma or Anumula Gitesh Sarma is an Indian diplomat. He has worked for the Indian Foreign Service since 1986. He completed his schooling from St. Xavier's School,Hazaribagh and received a BA and an MA from Delhi University.
Gaitri Issar Kumar is a retired Indian Foreign Service officer from the 1986 batch. Her last posting was as the High Commissioner of India to the United Kingdom. Prior to that,she served as Ambassador to Belgium,the European Union and Luxembourg. She also had stints as the Deputy Chief of Mission at the Indian Embassy in Paris,and Counselor in the Permanent Mission of India in Geneva as well as at the Ministry of External Affairs in Delhi.
