NSA Ajit Doval meets his Canadian counterpart Nathalie G. Drouin, in New Delhi on September 18, 2025
| Photo Credit: PTI

The Union Budget has increased the allocation for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) by 15.45%. The total allocation of ₹20,516.61 crore made for the annual requirements of the MEA is, however, without the EXIM bank provisioning that is also part of the MEA’s annual budget plans.

The Ministry has received ₹6,750 crore comprising 33% of overall budget for development partnership which is an increase of around 20% over previous year’s allocation of ₹5,667.56 crore.

A total of ₹4,320 crore has been allocated for immediate neighbours which is meant for infrastructure projects such as hydroelectric plants, power transmission lines, housing, roads and bridges in the South Asian neighbourhood. In the neighbourhood, Maldives got the highest increase apart from Bhutan which is traditionally the largest recipient of allocation under the MEA budget. There was no cut for Bangladesh, which is beset with political instability, with the allocation remaining ₹120 crore like last year.

Nepal, which receives allocation from the MEA’s annual budget, has retained ₹700 crore as its allocation.

The allocation for creating new missions was hiked by 9%. The allocation for maintaining embassies and missions abroad during the last financial year was ₹3,969.19 crore and that for 2025-26 is ₹4,206.22 crore. MEA has allocated ₹20 crore for cultural projects under the 2025-26 Budget.

The biggest increase, however, has come for the passport centres as the current allocation of ₹1,913.47 is a substantial jump over the previous year’s allocation of ₹970 crore for the same segment. The budgetary allocation is a dynamic process and may change later based on requirements.

The Delhi High Court will hear the case again on January 27 next year. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday (December 11, 2024) issued notices to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and the Indian Embassy in Qatar, seeking their response to a plea filed by the father of an incarcerated Indian citizen.

The father of Muhammed Kayalvakkath Bava, who has been serving a sentence in jail in Qatar since June 26, 2016 and is due to remain incarcerated till July 3, 2028, approached the court seeking directions to facilitate consular access for his son.

Kunhibava, represented by advocate Jaimon Andrews, sought a direction to the MEA and the Indian Embassy in Qatar to provide necessary legal and procedural support to his son before the foreign court.

Mr. Kunhibava said his son was “unable to initiate legal proceedings against a clear case of forgery”.

“His signatures were allegedly forged to transfer shares…through an agreement dated October 25, 2017. Additionally, a document dated November 8, 2017, purportedly notarised before the Documentation Department, State of Qatar, is also claimed to be forged,” the plea said.

The plea contended that Mr. Muhammed Bava could not have signed these documents while imprisoned during the relevant period.

“However, due to his imprisonment, Mr. Muhammed Bava has been unable to pursue legal action against the individuals who defrauded him,” the plea added.

The petition said Mr. Bava had been carrying out businesses in Qatar for about 30 years and owned 10 hyper-markets, and various other business establishments. It said Mr. Bava was also the dealer for a Qatari telecom company namely ‘Ooredoo’.

Mr. Andrews said consular access would entail regular communication and assistance for Mr. Bava during his imprisonment.

The court will hear the case again on January 27 next year.

New Delhi:

The Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday expressed its concern on the recent developments in West Asia after precision strike of Israel on Iran’s military sites.

In a statement, the MEA reiterated its call to return to dialogue and diplomacy.

“We are deeply concerned by the evolving escalation in West Asia and its ramifications for peace and stability in the region and beyond. We reiterate our call to all concerned to exercise restraint and return to the path of dialogue and diplomacy,” the statement said.

“The ongoing hostilities are to nobody’s benefit, even as innocent hostages and civilian populations continue to suffer. Our Missions in the region are in contact with the Indian community,” the statement added.

On Saturday morning, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that its military had conducted “precise strikes” on Iranian military targets, around a month after Tehran launched around 200 ballistic missiles towards Israel.

Israel’s strike came weeks after Iran launched a barrage of missiles toward Tel Aviv earlier this month. The Iranian strikes followed a nearly yearlong conflict between Israeli forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the deaths of senior leadership, and fighting in the Gaza Strip.

Both sides traded cross-border strikes, including Hezbollah in support of its fellow proxy Hamas and Israel to clear the way for displaced settlers to return to the border area.

Israel has been standing against “the terror attacks from Iran and its proxies” and has “precisely targeted military bases” in the country, Israel Consul General Kobbi Shoshani said on Saturday and asserted that Israel can reach any place in the Middle East “in a very massive way”.

In an interview with ANI, Kobbi Shoshani spoke about the conflict in the Middle East and said they have some conditions which include Hamas not having any military capability and there should be safety zone in Lebanon where Hezbollah will leave the area and there will be Lebanon Army.

“That bothers us very much… Some friends of Israel are negotiating with Hamas to find a solution. We are also looking forward to a solution. We have some conditions and one of them is that Hamas will not have any military capability… Secondly, in Lebanon, we want to create a safety zone where Hezbollah will leave the area and the army of Lebanon will be there,” he said.

Iran media on Saturday said that the country’s air defence systems have been activated in central Tehran in response to the escalating attacks by Israel.

State news agency IRNA said that Iran has successfully shot down “adversial targets” in the airspace around Tehran province.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

A US court’s summons to the Indian government over Khalistani terrorist Gurpatwant Singh Pannun’s civil suit, alleging a plot to murder him, was “completely unwarranted”, the Ministry of External Affairs has said. In a news briefing this afternoon, Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri was asked about the summons by the US District Court for Southern District of New York.

The summons names Government of India, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, former R&AW chief Samant Goel, R&AW agent Vikram Yadav, and Indian businessman Nikhil Gupta and seeks a reply within 21 days.

“When these issues were first brought to our attention, we took action. There’s a high-level committee engaged (in this matter),” the Foreign Secretary said. He said this was a “completely unwarranted case”. “I invite your attention to the person who filed this,” Mr Misri said, adding that Pannun’s “antecedent is well-known” and that he is from an unlawful organisation. Pannun heads the radical Sikhs for Justice and is known to put out incendiary speeches and threats against Indian leaders and institutions. New Delhi designated him a terrorist in 2020.

In November, the UK newspaper Financial Times reported that the US had thwarted a plot to kill Pannun, who holds dual citizenship in the US and Canada. Officials in the Joe Biden administration later confirmed this.

In its first response, the External Affairs Ministry said it is a “matter of concern” and stressed that India has launched a high-level probe.

“As regards the case against an individual that has been filed in a US court, allegedly linking him to an Indian official, this is a matter of concern. We have said that this is also contrary to government policy,” then MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

In May this year, External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar said India is investigating the matter, but stressed that it would not impact the “upward trajectory” of India-US ties.

“The United States brought to our attention certain information in good faith because we also believe some of it has implications for our own system,” he said in an interview to news agency PTI.

“We are investigating it. But I do not think the fundamental course of the upward trajectory of India-US is impacted by this at all,” he said.

US Ambassador to India Eric Garcetti has told NDTV that this matter will not affect India-US ties.

New Delhi:

State governments should not intrude into matters beyond their constitutional jurisdiction, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Thursday criticising the Kerala government for appointing a secretary for “external cooperation”.

Citing provisions in the Constitution, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that matters relating to foreign affairs are the “sole prerogative” of the central government.

On July 15, the Kerala government issued an order giving K Vasuki, secretary in the labour and skills department, the additional charge of “the matters connected with external cooperation”.

“The Constitution of India under the seventh schedule, list 1 (or the) Union list, item 10, clearly specifies that foreign affairs and all matters which bring the Union into relation with any foreign country, are the sole prerogative of the Union Government,” Jaiswal said.

“It is not a concurrent subject and definitely not a state subject. Our position is that state governments should not intrude into matters that are beyond their constitutional jurisdiction,” he said.

On Monday, BJP parliamentarian P P Chaudhary raised the issue in Lok Sabha and described the Kerala government’s action as “unconstitutional” and an “encroachment” on the responsibilities of the Centre.

“Is the Kerala government treating itself as a separate nation,” he asked.

The BJP lawmaker said external cooperation meant dealing with various nations, Indian embassies and missions abroad, functions that formed part of the Union List as per the allocation of business rules.

“As per the allocation of business rules, these functions can only be performed by the Government of India through the Ministry of External Affairs,” the MP from Pali in Rajasthan said.

“So, the action on the part of Kerala government by issuing such an order and appointing an IAS officer as foreign secretary is unconstitutional, and it is an encroachment on the union list,” he said. 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar.
| Photo Credit: ANI

India-funded projects in the neighbourhood received the bulk of the allocation for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) under the Union Budget presented by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday.

Nepal secured an allocation of ₹700 crore, which is a jump of ₹150 crore from previous year’s allocation of ₹550 crore. Sri Lanka, which has a number of India-funded projects, has received ₹245 crore, an improvement of ₹95 crore over last year’s funding of ₹150 crore. Seychelles, which had an allocation of ₹10 crore, has also received a boost in funding with the infusion of ₹30 crore.

Dip in funding

Bhutan, the largest recipient of the annual allocation under the MEA, has seen a dip in funding by ₹332.02 crore. Total funding for Bhutan this year stands at ₹2,068.56 crore. Bhutan and India are close economic partners and Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri visited Thimphu last week, when the two sides cleared 61 projects amounting to ₹4,958 crore. The slight reduction in the annual allocation therefore does not indicate a reduction in funding for projects in Bhutan.

Dips in funding were seen for Myanmar, Mauritius, Bangladesh, and Mongolia.

Conflict-torn Myanmar, which had an allocation of ₹400 crore last year, received ₹250 crore this year. Mauritius, with an allocation of ₹370 crore, has received ₹90.79 crore less than the previous year. The allocation for Mongolia, which earlier received ₹7 crore, has been scaled down to ₹5 crore.

Allocation for Bangladesh has dropped by ₹80 crore to ₹120 crore. Both Afghanistan and the Maldives, with ₹200 crore and ₹400 crore, respectively, have secured the same allocation as last year.

The Budget also allocated an additional ₹5 crore for MEA’s ‘Aid for Cultural and Heritage Projects’, bringing the total allocation to ₹15 crore.

New Delhi:

More than 4,500 Indian students have returned home from Bangladesh as the neighbouring country continues to reel under violent clashes that have killed over 100 people.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Sunday that 500 students from Nepal, 38 from Bhutan and one from the Maldives have also arrived in India.

It said the Indian missions in Bangladesh are in regular touch with local authorities for the safety and security of Indian nationals.

“Thus far, over 4,500 Indian students have returned to India. The High Commission has been making arrangements for security escort for safe travel of Indian nationals to the border-crossing points,” the MEA said.

Update on return of Indian Nationals in Bangladesh (July 21, 2024):https://t.co/xH7pgQ2NU0pic.twitter.com/awOXrUnJT8

— Randhir Jaiswal (@MEAIndia) July 21, 2024

It said the Indian High Commission in Dhaka and the assistant high commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna have been assisting the return of Indian nationals home.

“The Ministry of External Affairs has also been coordinating with relevant Indian authorities to ensure a smooth passage for our citizens at land-ports and airports,” it said in a statement.

The high commission is also coordinating with the civil aviation authorities of Bangladesh and commercial airlines to ensure the availability of flight services between India and Bangladesh, the ministry said.

The MEA said the Indian missions are also in regular contact with the remaining Indian students in various universities in Bangladesh and with Indian nationals for their welfare and assistance.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal on Friday said the total number of Indian nationals in Bangladesh is estimated to be around 15,000, including 8,500 students.

Bangladesh has been reeling under deadly clashes, with protesting students demanding that the Sheikh Hasina-led government scrap a controversial job-quota system.

More than 100 people have been killed in the clashes that broke out weeks ago, according to reports from Dhaka, though the exact number of deaths is not yet clear.

Law enforcement authorities in Bangladesh have imposed a nationwide curfew as the clashes between the protesters demanding the withdrawal of the job-quota system and police continued across the country.

“Over the course of the past two days, the High Commission of India in Dhaka and the Assistant High Commissions in Chittagong, Rajshahi, Sylhet and Khulna have been assisting the return of Indian nationals home, following the recent developments in Bangladesh,” the MEA said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

India on Thursday said it has been pressing Russia for early release and repatriation of its nationals employed by the Russian Army, underlining that it has sought a stop to recruitment of Indians in the war zone.

The statement comes days after two more Indians serving with the Russian military were killed in the Russia-Ukraine conflict, taking the death count of Indians to four in the war zone.

Two years since Russia’s invasion began, tens of thousands of its soldiers have been killed in Ukraine and Moscow has been on a global quest for more troops.

“We have taken up the matter with the Russian side for early release and repatriation of Indians recruited by the Russian army. We have also sought a verified stop to the recruitment,” said the External Affairs Ministry spokesperson at a press conference.  

Several Indians have been working as security helpers in the Russian military, and they were forced to fight with Russian soldiers in certain areas along Russia’s border with Ukraine, according to reports.

“As a result of our efforts, so far 10 Indian nationals have been released and repatriated. We continue to be in touch with the Russian side, both in New Delhi and Moscow, on this issue. This remains a matter of utmost concern for us and we expect action,” the spokesperson added.

In March, 30-year-old Hyderabad resident Mohammed Asfan succumbed to injuries sustained while serving with Russian troops on the frontlines with Ukraine.

In February, Hemal Ashwinbhai Mangua, a 23-year-old resident of Surat in Gujarat, died in a Ukrainian air strike while serving as a “security helper” in the Donetsk region.

“Four Indian nationals have been killed in the ongoing conflict so far. We are working with the Russian side for early transportation of the mortal remains of the two Indians who died recently. We are in touch with their family members as well,” said the spokesperson.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in March busted a major human trafficking network running across the country targeting Indian nationals on the promise of offering lucrative jobs abroad but allegedly sending them to the Russia-Ukraine war zone.

The CBI stated that these traffickers have been operating as an organised network and were luring Indian nationals through social media channels like YouTube, etc., and also through their local contacts/agents for highly paid jobs in Russia.

India is a longstanding ally of Russia and has shied away from explicit condemnation of the invasion of Ukraine.