IFS in a nutshell…

Almost everyone that commented on my previous post had the same complaint: you have said nothing about what it is like to be in the IFS. I was hoping that the fact that I live in Paris and travel to a new country almost every month would been enticing enough. But clearly I was wrong.

So here it goes folks; every embassy works differently. There are some like EoI, Moscow that expects TSLTs to visit twice a week, and then there is ours where we are expected to go to the Embassy every day. We are attached to separate Wings. I am currently in the Press, Information and Culture Wing. I am tempted to leave to the readers’ logic and common sense as to what this Wing does. But I won’t. This Wing, PIC henceforth, organises among other cultural events, the festival “Namasté France”, underway at the moment and near conclusion. I recently had a chance to visit Avignon, a city in the South of France famous in Christendom for being the Papal Seat in the 14th Century Western Europe, to represent EoI, Paris at a Namasté France event. All press and information related work is done by PIC. Visit the Facebook page “India in France/Embassy of India, Paris” and you will see updates on the activities of the Embassy. PIC puts out all this information.

It was a great feeling to be representing not just EoI, Paris or Government of India but in some ways 1.2 billion Indians. And here lies the charm of the service. You represent 1/6th of humanity in the best way possible, in official and sometimes personal capacity. You take pride in our country, our culture and our people. You listen to grievances of Indians abroad and do your best to find them solutions. The last one by the way is the job of the Consular Wing. This is also the Wing that issues Visas to foreigners intending to visit India.

My colleagues and I also had a chance to visit the headquarters of the OECD last month. (Not gonna spoon feed the full form. Google it.) We had an interactive session with some of the most important executives of OECD, all four of whom, beeteedoubleyou, were women. We discovered the areas where India is working with the OECD and how this International Organisation, often called a Rich Man’s Club, is so keen to take India on as a member. Also, this is the domain of the Economic and Commercial Wing, among other commercial work in France.

In other news, Elections to the French Presidency are on the horizon and in the aftermath of Brexit and the US elections it would be interesting to see what the French decide for themselves. What a new French President will bring to the table with respect to Indo-French relations, is something to watch out for. No prizes for guessing which Wing looks after these actualities; yes it is indeed the Political Wing, which I will be joining w.e.f. 1st December.

I can still foresee questions about my exact timetable coming my way so I am actually putting it down here:

French Class till 1 PM

Lunch at home till 2.30 PM

Embassy 3 to 5.30 PM

Sometimes we are sent to various events that the Embassy is organising or has received invitations for. But on the whole, its like any office in the Govt. of India. You are required to put up notes and proposals for various things or plans you want to undertake, submit reports for events that you may have attended, etc. Add to this the fact that we also have to make a 15 minute presentation in the first week of December and submit a research paper of three to four thousand words at the end of January.

That pretty much sums up the life of a TSLT at an Embassy. Before anyone poses questions about accommodation and salary, let me clarify: the Government takes good care of IFS officers, I assure you. With your head on your shoulders and an open mind, you couldn’t ask for a better job. You meet people from diverse cultures and backgrounds, you learn a new language, and if you’re willing to be adventurous, even new cuisines. Your seniors encourage you to learn new things and do your best and I have been lucky so far to have worked with excellent officers, at headquarters and even at the Embassy.

There may also be some aspirants worried about whether or not you get to visit India. Yes, you do. Because IFS officers are also human beings just like everyone else and are entitled to be with their families at least occasionally if not often. IFS-IAS couples are of course the most brave of the lot, being able to see each other barely once in 3-4 months. But this is a trade off we make to be with the right person. And to me it seems to be a choice worth making.

the bottom-line is this: you either want to be a Diplomat or you don’t. This is a choice you make only once and then there is no looking back. No time or space for regrets. I have none despite the possibility of an inconvenient domestic situation, because the right job and the right partner are both indispensable to me for a life worth living.

With that I shall end this post purely (or so I had intended) dedicated to life as a young officer in the IFS. For further answers, please direct your queries to the RTI Cell of the MEA.

 

 

 

PS: The RTI Cell part is meant to be a joke. The point is, focus on cracking the exam and go for the service, not the supposed “perks”.