New Delhi: Shashi Tharoor, who was a UN diplomat before he entered politics, has said the government should increase the number of diplomats and called for a separate Indian Foreign Service (IFS) exam.

"Brazil has 1,200 people in foreign services... China something like 6,000 people...the US 20,000...I am not saying we can be like the US or even like China. But 800 is far too modest a number and it needs to be increased," the Congress leader who heads the parliamentary committee on external affairs said on the sidelines of a meeting earlier this week.

In a report, the committee has expressed "grave concern" over the IFS strength, noting that there were only 770 officers against the sanctioned 912 and stressing that the size of India's diplomatic corps "is inadequate considering the tasks and challenges before the ministry and nation".

Tharoor pitched for lateral entry into the IFS and said while there had been an increase in IFS intake over the past year or so, these officers would require 10 years of experience to be "ready for productivity". "We are saying you need some people now to make up for your efficiency. We can think about lateral entry and facilitating the entry of NRIs."

Making a case for a separate exam, Tharoor said the golden days were over when the IFS was seen as the elite service and one had to be among the UPSC top 10 to opt for it. "But equally, we are getting people into the foreign service who never wanted to be in the service. The kind of qualities needed in a diplomat are very different from others. So, there is a need for a separate exam."

For becoming a diplomat one needs to have some interest in world affairs and some flair for languages, among other qualities, he said. PTI