MEA reopens doors to interns, CVs pour in | Economic Times

The foreign office is facing a veritable deluge of applications for internships from across the country after the ministry of external affairs revamped its policy of inviting interns into the ministry.For youngsters with a yen for foreign policy, MEA is reopening its doors to internships. According to a new and improved policy, MEA will be taking in about 60 interns every year in two batches, with each intern spending three months in the ministry.The idea is to bring young people from different parts of the country to experience the making of foreign policy up close. Harsh Shringla, foreign secretary ordered a review of a 2016 internship policy. The rollout intends to cover almost all states and Union Territories of India. Diversity and gender inclusiveness, underprivileged backgrounds, both rural and urban are key benchmarks here, officials said. Each “batch” will feature interns from 14 states and four UTs. The selectors are aiming to get 30-50% female representation.Internships are regarded as important learning processes certainly in the US government, which attracts droves of youngsters fresh off college learning on the job, so to speak. Officials said the MEA template could be replicated in other ministries to attract young people, who, many believe, are increasingly disenchanted and disengaged from government and its processes.In India, the effort, officials say, is to try and make the selection process as impersonal as possible given that such recruitments invite “recommendations” from people with “connections”.The selection process, therefore, is fully online, through a dedicated portal and two-step screening processes. Priority, they said, would be given to youngsters coming from the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme (TADP). Both class 12 and bachelor’s degree results will be weighed together. Interns will work in the different divisions of the MEA, a little like the IFS probationers do.