The Ministry of External Affairs (abbreviated as MEA; ISO: Vidēśa Mantrālaya) is a ministry of the Government of India tasked with India's foreign policy and relations. The Ministry is headed by the Minister of External Affairs, a member of the Prime Minister's Cabinet. The Minister is typically assisted by one or more junior ministers, known as Ministers of State (MoS) for External Affairs. The Foreign Secretary of the Republic of India is the senior-most non-elected official and the administrative head of the ministry.
Branch of Government of India | |
Ministry of External Affairs of the Republic of India | |
| Ministry overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | September 1946 |
| Jurisdiction | Government of India |
| Headquarters | Jawaharlal Nehru Bhawan Janpath, New Delhi |
| Employees |
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| Annual budget | ₹20,516.61 crore (US$2.4 billion) (2025–26) |
| Minister responsible |
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| Deputy Ministers responsible |
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| Ministry executives |
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| Website | mea.gov.in |
The Ministry of External Affairs operates more than 200 diplomatic missions around the world through which it represents the Government of India on the international stage. In addition, the Ministry is responsible for India's representation at the United Nations and other international organizations. The Ministry is also responsible for the repatriation of Indian citizens in danger abroad and in the extradition of fugitives who have fled India. The Ministry of External Affairs may also advise other ministries and state governments in their interactions with foreign entities and brief them on pertinent international developments.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs, consisting of elected members from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha, is tasked with this ministry's legislative oversight.
As of March 2025, the ministry has the current sanctioned strength of IFS (A) is 1,177 and General Cadre IFS (B) is 2,379, Stenographers' Cadre is 1,209, other cadre is 1,150 and local cadre is 3,119.
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 Hindi: Videsh Mantri).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.
| Minister of External Affairs | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Subrahmanyam Jaishankar | |||||
| Minister of State | Minister of State | ||||
| Kirti Vardhan Singh | Pabitra Margherita | ||||
| Foreign Secretary | |||||
| Vikram Misri | |||||
| Secretary (West) | Secretary (East) | Secretary (South) | Secretary (Economic Relations) | Secretary (Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs) | Special Secretary & Financial Adviser |
| Sibi George | Periasamy Kumaran | Neena Malhotra | Sudhakar Dalela | Sripriya Ranganathan | Anurag Agarwal |
| Official Spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs |
|---|
| Randhir Jaiswal |
| Division | Scope |
|---|---|
| A & RM (Acquisition & Resource Management) Division | Manages acquisition and resources of MEA. |
| Administration Division | Handles administrative matters, cadre management, official language, and procedures. |
| AMS (Americas) Division | Handles United States and Canada. |
| BM (Bangladesh–Myanmar) Division | Covers Bangladesh and Myanmar. |
| BIMSTEC and SAARC Division | Handles all matters relating to BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) and the SAARC. |
| Central and West Africa Division | Covers Nigeria, Ghana, Senegal, Ivory Coast, and other nations. |
| CCCS (Centre of Contemporary China Studies) Division | Coordinates research, analysis, and policy matters related to contemporary developments in China through the Centre for Contemporary China Studies. |
| Central America Division | Covers Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, and Caribbean states. |
| CPV Division | Handles consular, passport, and visa services. |
| CT (Counter Terrorism) Division | Deals with counter-terrorism and security cooperation. |
| Cyber Diplomacy Division | Manages cyber-policy and digital diplomacy. |
| D&ISA (Disarmament & International Security Affairs) Division | Focuses on arms control, non‑proliferation, and international security. |
| DPA‑I | Handles concessional loans to partner countries. |
| DPA‑II | Capacity development and South‑South cooperation. |
| DPA‑III | Manages grant-assistance projects. |
| DPA‑IV | Cultural-heritage and restoration projects abroad. |
| Diaspora Engagement Division | Programmes for Global Engagement with the diaspora, PBD, SPDC, KIP, PCTD, PTDY, databases, and student/women support abroad. |
| East Asia Division | Covers China, Japan, South Korea, Mongolia, North Korea. |
| East and Southern Africa Division | Covers Kenya, Ethiopia, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Malawi, and others. |
| Economic Diplomacy Division | Handles trade, investment, and energy diplomacy. |
| EP & W (Emigration Policy & Welfare) Division | Migration, mobility, and welfare for Indian workers abroad. |
| Establishment Division | Manages establishment matters like property, accommodation, and equipment. |
| Eurasia Division | Handles all matters relating to Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. |
| Europe West Division | Covers Andorra, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Portugal, San Marino, Spain, United Kingdom, and EU. |
| Finance Division | Budget and expenditure of the Ministry. |
| GEM (Global Estate Management) Division | Manages estates and properties abroad. |
| G20 Division | Coordinates G20 matters. |
| Gulf Division | Covers Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Kuwait, Yemen. |
| Indian Ocean Region (IOR) Division | Covers Maldives, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, Seychelles, Madagascar, Comoros. |
| Indo-Pacific Division | Oversees strategic regional Indo-Pacific issues. |
| Liaison Officer for Other Backward Classes of the Ministry | Liaison and monitoring of OBC policies. |
| Liaison Officer for Scheduled Castes / Scheduled Tribes / Persons with Disabilities of the Ministry | Liaison and monitoring of SC/ST/PD policies. |
| MEA Library | Library and information management at Patiala House. |
| MER (Multilateral Economic Relations) Division | Handles WTO, IMF, World Bank, and multilateral economic issues. |
| NEST Division | Deals with new, emerging, and strategic technologies. |
| Northern Division | Covers Nepal and Bhutan. |
| Northern Europe Division | Covers Sweden, Norway, Finland, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. |
| OE & PGE (Overseas Employments & Protectorate General of Emigrants) | Oversees Indian employment abroad and protection. |
| Oceania Division | Covers Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, and other Pacific nations. |
| PAI (Pakistan–Afghanistan–Iran) Division | Covers Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iran. |
| PP & R (Policy Planning & Research) Division | Mid-/long-term policy planning and research. |
| Protocol Division | Manages protocol, diplomatic privileges, and VVIP visits. |
| RTI (Right to Information) Cell | Implements Right to Information Act 2005 in the Ministry. |
| SCO (Shanghai Cooperation Organisation) Division | Handles SCO matters and India’s engagement. |
| Southern Division | Covers Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor Leste, and Vietnam. |
| Southern Europe Division | Covers Italy, Portugal, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, and other nearby nations. |
| South America Division | Covers Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Venezuela, Ecuador, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay, and other countries. |
| UNES (United Nations Economic & Social) Division | Handles India’s UN economic, social, and sustainable development engagement. |
| UNP (United Nations Political) Division | Handles UN political, security, Security Council, and peacekeeping matters. |
| WANA (West Asia & North Africa) Division | Covers Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya, and other WANA countries. |
| Welfare Division | Welfare policies and programs for Ministry employees. |
| XPD (External Publicity & Public Diplomacy) Division | Manages media, publicity, website, new media, publications, and soft power initiatives. |
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).
| Year | Operation | Region | Description | References |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 1990 airlift of Indians from Kuwait | Kuwait | Evacuation of over 170,000 Indians during the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait & Gulf War, one of the largest civilian evacuations in history. | |
| 2015 | Operation Raahat | Yemen | Evacuation of ~4,640 Indians and 960 foreign nationals during the Yemen civil war. | |
| 2015 | Operation Maitri | Nepal | Earthquake relief operation evacuating ~43,000 Indians, over 150 foreign tourist were evacuated and were provided transit visa to as many as 785 foreigners | |
| 2018 | Operation Samudra Maitri | Indonesia | Disaster relief operation post-Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami. | |
| 2021 | Operation Devi Shakti | Afghanistan | Evacuation of 800 Indian nationals and minorities after Taliban takeover. | |
| 2022 | Operation Ganga | Ukraine | Evacuation of ~25,000 Indian nationals & 147 citizens of 18 other countries were evacuated during Russia–Ukraine war. | |
| 2023 | Operation Kaveri | Sudan | Evacuation of ~3,897 Indians during Sudan crisis. | |
| 2023 | Operation Ajay | Israel | Evacuation of 1,400 Indian nationals during Israel–Hamas war. | |
| 2025 | Operation Brahma | Myanmar | Relief mission after Myanmar earthquake; 625 MT aid, NDRF, IAF deployed. | |
| 2025 | Operation Sindhu | Iran | Evacuation of 110 Indian students amid Iran–Israel War. | |
| 2025 | Operation Sagar Bandhu | Sri Lanka | Operation Sagar Bandhu is India’s rapid HADR mission to aid cyclone- and flood-hit Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah. |
See also
- Raisina Dialogue
- Minister of External Affairs (India)
- Indian Council of World Affairs
- Chanakyapuri
- List of diplomatic missions in India
- List of diplomatic missions of India
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