Careers In Indian Foreign Service Introduction Eligibility Job Prospects Remuneration Institutes

Introduction The Indian Foreign Service (abbreviated as IFS) is the premier diplomatic service of our country. It was in September 1946, on the eve of India’s independence, the Government of India decided to create 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 service in 1948.The Indian Foreign Service is a service under Grade A and Grade B of the Central Civil Services of the executive branch of the Government of India.

Eligibility The candidate must hold a Bachelor’s degree with at least one of the subjects namely Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Science, Botany, Chemistry, Geology, Mathematics, Physics, Statistics and Zoology or a Bachelor’s degree in Agriculture, Forestry or in Engineering of any of Universities incorporated by an Act of the Central or State Legislature in India or other educational institutions established by an Act of Parliament or declared to be deemed as a University Under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission Act, 1956, or possess an equivalent qualification.

Job Prospects Probationers at first are attached with a desk, dealing with a particular country, at the External Affairs Ministry in India. Thereafter they are posted abroad to the Indian Mission of that country, as third secretaries. Normally he is posted in a country where his compulsory foreign language (CFL) is the native language and enrolled in a language course. The officer is expected to develop proficiency in his CFL and pass the requisite examination before he is confirmed in service. Then he/she is promoted to Second Secretary as soon as he is confirmed in service. They remain in the same office as Second Secretary for two years.

A Customer Service Representative (CSR) earns an average salary of Rs 205,508 per year. Remuneration

Institutes Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Delhi. Mahatma Gandhi Mission's Institute of Indian & Foreign Languages, Aurangabad, Maharashtra. School of Indian and Foreign Languages, Nalanda Open University, Patna, Bihar. Indian Law Institute, New Delhi, Delhi NCR.