Congress leader and Chairman of the Parliamentary Panel on External Affairs Shashi Tharoor has said the Government should increase the number of diplomats and asserted that there was a need for a separate exam for the Indian Foreign Service (IFS).
"Brazil has 1,200 people in foreign services, if you look at the number when it comes to China they have something like 6,000 people, the US has 20,000 people. 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," Tharoor told reporters on the sidelines of a meeting of the panel earlier this week.