Committee on External Affairs

Each of the committees have 31 members – 21 from Lok Sabha and 10 from Rajya Sabha. These members are to be nominated by the Speaker of Lok Sabha or the Chairman of Rajya Sabha respectively. The term of office of these committees does not exceed one year. These committees are serviced either by Lok Sabha secretariat or the Rajya Sabha secretariat, depending on who has appointed the chairman of that committee.

Following are the members of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs.{{cite web |title=Committee on External Affairs : Loksabha |url=http://loksabhaph.nic.in/Committee/CommitteeInformation.aspx?comm_code=11&tab=2 |website=loksabhaph.nic.in |access-date=20 January 2022}}

Keys: {{legend2|{{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}|BJP (14)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Indian National Congress}}|INC (4)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Samajwadi Party}}|SP (2)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|All India Trinamool Congress}}|AITC (2)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}|CPIM (2)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}|DMK (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)}}|SS(UBT) (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|YSR Congress Party}}|YSRCP (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}|RJD (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}}{{legend2|{{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}}|IUML (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} {{legend2|{{party color|All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen}}|AIMIM (1)|border=solid 1px #AAAAAA}} = 31 members

{{Pie chart|caption=Party-wise membership of Standing Committee on Defence|other=

|label1=BJP|value1=45.16|color1={{party color|Bharatiya Janata Party}}

|label2=INC|value2=12.90|color2={{party color|Indian National Congress}}

|label3=SP|value3=6.45|color3={{party color|Samajwadi Party}}

|label4=AITC|value4=6.45|color4={{party color|All India Trinamool Congress}}

|label5=CPIM|value5=6.45|color5={{party color|Communist Party of India (Marxist)}}

|label6=DMK|value6=3.22|color6={{party color|All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam}}

|label7=SS(UBT)|value7=3.22|color7={{party color|Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray)}}

|label8=YSRCP|value8=3.22|color8={{party color|YSR Congress Party}}

|label9=RJD|value9=3.22|color9={{party color|Rashtriya Janata Dal}}

|label10=IUML|value10=3.22|color10={{party color|Indian Union Muslim League}}

|label11=AIMIM|value11=3.22|color11={{party color|All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen}}

}}

As part of its oversight process, the committee has published quite a number of reports over the course of its existence. The committee has published a total of 87 reports from 1993 to 2010. Out of these, 18 are reports on Demands for Grants (DFGs), 25 reports on subjects taken up by the committee, 5 reports on bills referred to the committee and 36 are reports on action taken by the government on corresponding reports of the committee.

In March 2023, the committee in its Demand for Grants (2023–24) report, criticized the ministry for being "most short-staffed" and under-budgeted. The committee highlighted that The total strength of 4,888 is distributed across different cadres of the Ministry such as the Indian Foreign Service (IFS), IFS General Cadre, IFS Group B, Stenographers Cadre, Interpreters Cadre, Legal and Treaties Cadre, among others. The cadre strength of Indian Foreign Service Officers is only 1,011, just 22.5 percent of the total strength. Out of IFS 'A' cadre, 667 are posted at the Missions abroad and 334 are manning the headquarters in Delhi, which currently has 57 divisions.{{cite news |title='Indian diplomatic service most short-staffed compared to many other countries': Parliamentary panel |url=https://www.newindianexpress.com/nation/2023/mar/21/indian-diplomatic-service-most-short-staffed-compared-to-many-other-countries-parliamentary-pane-2558234.html |access-date=8 April 2023 |work=The New Indian Express}} The committee also highlighted that the ministry “remains one amongst the least funded central ministries” as its actual annual spending has been around 0.4% of the total budgetary allocation of the government since 2020-21.{{cite news |title=Parliamentary panel for ramping up manpower and funding for MEA |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/parliamentary-panel-for-ramping-up-manpower-and-funding-for-mea-101679421330165.html |access-date=8 April 2023 |work=Hindustan Times |date=21 March 2023 |language=en}}

{{portal|India}}

• 17th Lok Sabha
• Estimates Committee
• Committee on Public Undertakings
• Public Accounts Committee (India)
• Standing Committee on Finance

{{notelist}}

• [http://loksabhaph.nic.in/Committee/CommitteeInformation.aspx?comm_code=11&tab=1 Committee on External Affairs] on Lok Sabha Website

Category:Committees of the Parliament of India

Category:Ministry of External Affairs (India)

India