India expands the diplomatic imprint in the middle of the growing diaspora and political ambitions

India, with Turkey, according to the index, had the diplomatic network which knows the fastest growth.

India diplomatic corps is also small, given its growing strategic and economic importance. It has just over 1,000 diplomats.

While India seeks to play a more important international role, approach this imbalance between diplomatic force and political and economic ambitions has become more urgent.

On the one hand, there is rivalry with China for world South leadership which is becoming an important voice in international politics. The South worldwide refers to countries in Africa, Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

India is also in competition with China In the search for minerals and vital energy to fuel its expansion economy, as well as in the opening of new commercial routes.

A new consulate in MarseilleA port city of the Mediterranean was inaugurated by Mr. Modi and the French President Emmanuel Macron in February.

This consulate has also acquired importance because it is planned to help India trace the economic corridor of India-Middle Europe, which connects India in the Middle East and Europe thanks to a transport and energy infrastructure network.

During a visit in February in the United States, where India already has six consulates, Mr. Modi said that new consulates in Boston and Los Angeles would soon open.

He also announced in 2024 That India has decided to open new consulates in Russia in the southwest city of Kazan and the west city of Yekaterinburg.

India also discusses with Somalia the opening of a consulate in Mogadishu.

This is in accordance with the India of Growth. We need a presence on the ground because India will be the third economy in the world (by 2035), said a senior government official. India is currently the greatest economy by a gross domestic product after the United States, China, Germany and Japan.

We must also meet the needs of a developing diaspora.

The Indian diaspora, comprising around 35.42 million people, includes 15.85 million Indian nationals, According to figures until May 2024 of thHe Ministry of External Affairs.

The Indian diaspora has a significant presence in countries like the United States where it has more than 5.4 million, and the United Arab Emirates, where there are about 3.5 million Indian workers.

The size of the diaspora means an extended need for services for its citizens, ranging from the renewals of passports and repatriation during an emergency, to the registration of births and deaths, and from the official certification of documents for various purposes.

Mr. Modi, more than any other Prime Minister, has courted the diaspora for several reasons, notably for the projection of the soft power India on an international scale and the courier Diasporas to invest in India.

Large gatherings of diaspora outside India have also helped to support the popularity of Mr. Modis.

While consulates and embassies are planned a lot in advance and often on a reciprocal basis, retired and in the diplomat serviceS says Strait times The fact that the request for more missions and diplomats is long -standing.

For a long timeEveryone was (talk) On how we need more missions, not only because of the growing stature of the India, but also to have bilateral links with Each countrysaid Ms. Sangeeta Bahadur, a retired diplomat who was an ambassador of Indians to Bélarus and COrganization of Malta.

She said that when she joined the external service within 19 years80India recruited 10 to 12 diplomats per year. The figures have now more than doubled.

But it is not yet enough.

Although we have expanded diplomatic service, there is a need for more diplomats and more hands on the mast, said Ms. Bahadur.

In the populated country in South Asia with a population of 1.4 billion inhabitants, the Ministry of External Affairs has no total length of only 8,697, including 1,123 diplomats according to figures until March 2024 which enter through competitive exams.

In addition to diplomats, stenographers and performers, the number also includes Consular homework and local hiring.

This means that the workload is so high that officers Long -hour work, a former diplomat, who did not want to be cited, told St, adding that some were even working on Saturdays and Sundays.

Recruitment for the best India diplomats is rigorous. Applicants must undergo a rigorous screening procedure.

More than a million candidates pass the preliminary exams each year, but only about 1,000 are recruited for various flows of the government. In 2024, out of the total number recruited by the government, 35 were chosen for the Indian external service.

Former diplomats said that in addition to stimulating figures, India needs more diplomats and officers with expertise in areas such as trade or technology,, Given the increasingly difficult external environment to expand American prices, among other things.

Sometimes you need qualified people more than figures. Now technology is coming, so you need technology -oriented people. The need for Theold's general service has disappeared, said a retired diplomat at St.

Nevertheless, India worked to repair the gaps, as by recruiting more diplomats and having more missions. The Ministry of External Affairs said to a parliamentary panel in 2024 that around 110 officers should join the service between 2024 and 2025.

In the short term, he also started to recruit consultants who are specialists in fields such as asmaritic security, outdoor space and arctic geopolitics.

Diplomats noted that India actively tackles the challenge of stimulating diplomatic force.

We must develop in terms of missions and diplomats, noted a government official.

• Nirmala Ganapathy is the head of the office of India with Times Straits. It is based in New Delhi and written on India's foreign policy and policy.

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