Foreign Service Institute, India
The Foreign Service Institute (FSI) India is the institute in New Delhi where Indian Foreign Service officers are trained. The Institute functions under the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. The Institute is headed by the Dean of the Foreign Service Institute, who is an officer of the Indian Foreign Service of the rank of Secretary/ Additional Secretary to the Government of India. Other officers deputed to the institute are - two Joint Secretaries, a Deputy Secretary and an Under Secretary; but this composition may change from time to time. The institute, within its premises, also has an hostel and a few flats for the Officer Trainees of the Indian Foreign Service and other officials on deputation to the institute respectively.
The Foreign Service Institute was established by the Government of India in 1986 primarily to cater to the professional training needs of the trainees of the Indian Foreign Service and use to run from two rooms in Akbar Bhawan. The training programme of the Indian diplomats goes on for about a year, during which they are taught various aspects of India's foreign policy, international relations, Indian history and culture, Indian and the world economic scenario, communication and interpersonal skills, and the like, before they take up posting within the Ministry of External Affairs and sent abroad later.[1]
The FSI's activities were later diversified to include courses of interest to all levels of officers of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs and also to other officers of the civil services of India. The Institute also conducts courses for Diplomats of other countries. This course is known as Professional Course For Foreign Diplomats(PCFD). The FSI moved to its new building in 2007 in the old JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) campus in New Delhi.
Deans of the Foreign Service Institute
The following people have served as Dean of the Institute:[2]
- A. N. D. Haksar (1988–1990)
- Kiran Doshi (1991–1992)
- S. M. S. Chadha (1992–1995)
- Lalit Mansingh (1995–1996)
- Dilip Lahiri (Jan 1997 - Nov 1997)
- M. Venkataraman (Nov 1997 - Nov 1998)
- Bhaskar Mitra (Acting) (Nov 1998 - Dec 1998)
- Dalip Mehta (Dec 1998 - Jun 2002)
- Santosh Kumar (Aug 2002 - Oct 2004)
- Atish Sinha (Dec 2004 - Nov 2006)
- Surendra Kumar (Dec 2006 - Feb 2008)
- Ajay Choudhry (Mar 2008–March 2013)
- Ms. Nengcha Lhouvum Mukhopadhyay (April 2013-present)