Foreign Secretary (India)

The foreign secretary of India (ISO: Vidēśa Saciva) is the top diplomat of India and administrative head of the Ministry of External Affairs. This post is held by an Indian foreign service officer of the rank of secretary to the government of India.Vikram Misri is an Indian diplomat and currently serving as the Foreign Secretary of India from July 2024, succeeding Vinay Mohan Kwatra.

As an officer of the rank of secretary to the government of India, the foreign secretary ranks 23rd on the Indian Order of Precedence.^[1] However, unlike other secretaries to the government of India, the foreign secretary is also the top diplomat of the country and heads the 'Foreign Service Board'.

Powers, responsibilities and postings

The foreign secretary is the administrative head of the Ministry of External Affairs, and is the principal adviser to the minister of external affairs on all matters of policy and administration within the External Affairs Ministry.^[2]

The role of the foreign secretary is as follows:^[3]

To act as the administrative head of the Ministry of External Affairs. The responsibility in this regard is complete and undivided.
To act as the chief adviser to the Minister of External Affairs on all aspects of policy and administrative affairs.
To represent the Ministry of External Affairs before the Public Accounts Committee of the Parliament of India.
Recommends postings of officers under the Ministry of External Affairs of the rank of secretary, additional secretary and joint secretary to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC).
To act as the first among equals among the Secretaries in the Ministry of External Affairs.

Emolument, accommodation and perquisites

The foreign secretary is eligible for a Diplomatic passport. The official earmarked residence of the union foreign secretary is 3, Circular Road, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.

List of foreign secretaries

References

^ "Table of Precedence" (PDF). Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India. President's Secretariat. 26 July 1979. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 May 2014. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
^ "Central Secretariat Manual of Office Procedure - 14th Edition (2015)" (PDF). Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension. p. 6. Retrieved 15 November 2016.
^ Laxmikanth, M. (2014). Governance in India (2nd ed.). Noida: McGraw Hill Education. pp. 3.1–3.10. ISBN 978-9339204785.
^ "Report of the 7th Central Pay Commission of India" (PDF). Seventh Central Pay Commission, Government of India. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
^ Nirupama Rao is India's new foreign secretary The Times of India, 1 August 2009."Chokila Iyer was first woman, Indian Foreign Secretary in 2001."

External links