| Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service | |
| Native Name: | सुषमा स्वराज विदेश सेवा संस्थान |
| Native Name Lang: | hi |
| Other Name: | Foreign Service Institute |
| Type: | Civil Service training institute |
| Established: | 1986 |
| Head Label: | Dean |
| Country: | India |
| Campus: | Urban |
The Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service (Hindi: सुषमा स्वराज विदेश सेवा संस्थान is the civil service training 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/Joint 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 a hostel and a few flats for the Officer Trainees of the Indian Foreign Service and other officials on deputation to the institute respectively.[1]
"The Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service" 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.[2]
The SSIFS'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 SSIFS moved to its new building in 2007 in the old JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) campus in New Delhi.
The institute was renamed as Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service on 14 February 2020 in honour of former Minister of External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj on her 68th birth anniversary.[3]
The following people have served as Dean of the Institute:[4]
| Name | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | 1990 | ||
| Kiran Doshi | 1991 | 1992 | |
| S. M. S. Chadha | 1992 | 1995 | |
| 1995 | 1996 | ||
| Dilip Lahiri | January 1997 | November 1997 | |
| M. Venkataraman | November 1997 | November 1998 | |
| Bhaskar Mitra (Acting) | November 1998 | December 1998 | |
| December 1998 | June 2002 | ||
| Santosh Kumar | August 2002 | October 2004 | |
| Atish Sinha | December 2004 | November 2006 | |
| Surendra Kumar | December 2006 | February 2008 | |
| Ajay Choudhry | March 2008 | March 2013 | |
| Ms. Nengcha Lhouvum Mukhopadhyay | April 2013 | December 2015 | |
| Amarendra Khatua | January 2016 | September 2016 | |
| J. S. Mukul | September 2017 | September 2021[5] | |
| Arun Kumar Chatterjee (additional charge) | September 2021 | 2023 | |
| Gaddam Dharmendra | 2023 | 2024 | |
| Sanjiv Ranjan | 2024 |