The Parliamentary Standing Committee on external affairs has expressed deep concern at the slashing of the allocation for 2025-26 for the Ministry by over ₹10,000 core, the highest in recent years for the department.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri told the committee that more allocation was needed for development assistance and “there isn’t enough appreciation for the fact that much diplomatic capital and goodwill is generated by our development partnership expenditure.”
Moreover, India lacks missions in as many as 41 countries which is not in consonance with the country’s growing stature on the global stage.
“The Committee has observed with concern the consistent trend of significant gaps between the budgetary demands and the actual allocations for the Ministry of External Affairs over the past few years. The most notable instance is the sharp differential observed in the allocation for BE 2025-26, where the Ministry’s demand for ₹30,871.82 crore has been slashed down to ₹20,516.61 crores, resulting in a differential of ₹10,355.21 crore — the highest recorded in recent years,” per the Parliament Standing Committee report presented in Parliament on Monday.
Discrepancies
The Committee noted that such discrepancies in budgetary allocation have created challenges for the Ministry in meeting its core diplomatic, development, and operational objectives, particularly in light of the evolving global challenges and India’s aspirations for a more prominent role on the global stage.
When asked to spell out the areas that required better resources during an oral hearing, Misri said that development assistance was an obvious one. “We do a project. It is not as if that country gives us something. But it is possible that three years after the project is done, we may actually have a very important ask of that country and we get. That is the value in the development partnership systems,” he said.
The second priority identified by Misri was in support human resources. “Every time we create posts abroad; we need expenditure for that. Then, there is associated expenditure for the facilities that are needed for personnel that we send abroad. So, more money for more people abroad, and that is obviously connected to the cadre review exercise that we carry out from time to time,” he said.
The third area that requires funding is acquiring real estate. “We do still not have in all countries in the world the right real estate that befits a country of India’s size and stature whether it is in terms of the embassy buildings or the residences of our heads of mission or the residences of the officers of the embassies… in the bulk of the places, I would say that we are significantly below the mark were we should be, even if you are aiming for an average,” he said.
“…the Committee observes that India currently lacks a resident Mission or post in 41 countries, limiting opportunities for engagement with potential partners and the strengthening of diplomatic, economic, and strategic ties. The Committee emphasises that Missions should be prioritised in countries where there is significant potential for trade and investment, a strong Indian diaspora, or an opportunity for India to bolster its political outreach in multilateral forums,” the report noted.
