Ministry of External Affairs Internship Policy 2022: Apply by Feb 15!

About Ministry of External Affairs

The Ministry of External Affairs of India is the government agency responsible for maintaining the foreign relations of India. The Ministry of External Affairs is headed by the Minister of External Affairs, a Cabinet Minister. The Foreign Secretary, an Indian Foreign Service officer, is the most senior civil servant who is the head of the Department of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry represents the Government of India through embassies and is also responsible for India’s representation at the United Nations and other international organizations. It also advises other Ministries and State Governments on foreign governments and institutions.

The committee on External Affairs is tasked with this ministry’s legislative oversight.

About the Opportunity

As part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations to commemorate 75 years of independence, Ministry of External Affairs is launching the first edition of the MEA Internships Programme. The MEA Internship Policy 2022 aims to take foreign policy closer to the people; bring in more focus on MEA; provide value to the interns; ensure better gender inclusivity and increase diversity in terms of qualifications, domicile and socio-economic status amongst the cohort of interns engaged by the Ministry.

Eligibility

Internships at MEA headquarters shall generally be open to Indian citizens with a minimum educational qualification of a graduate degree from a recognized university at the time of applying. Internships shall also be open to students who are presently in the final year of their graduation, where an internship is a mandatory part of their final year curriculum. Age of the candidates should not exceed 25 years as on 31 December of the year of internship.

Intake and duration

A total of 75 internships will be offered in the year 2022 in a single term of three months during April to June 2022. All selected interns will be required to join the Ministry on the same day in April 2022. Each intern will be engaged for a minimum period of one month and a maximum period of three months.

Perks

An honorarium of INR 10,000 per month will be paid to each intern to defray basic costs. Cost of one-time to and fro air travel subject to a ceiling of the prevailing economy class air fare between the State capital and Delhi, from the domicile State or from the college / university of the selected candidates will be provided. The interns would be responsible for their board and lodging in Delhi during the period of their internship.

Diversity

In line with the goal of taking the Ministry and foreign policy closer to the people from all parts of the country, the policy aims to ensure increased diversity amongst the group of interns with respect to gender, underprivileged sections, geographical domicile and representation from both urban and rural areas.
Candidates from districts under the Transformation of Aspirational Districts Programme (TADP) and those belonging to SC/ST/OBC/EWS categories shall be given priority at different stages in the selection process.

How to Apply:

The selection process will be fully online HERE with applications, scrutiny, selection, allocation of Division, notification, extension and certification to be managed on a dedicated internship portal of the Ministry. Each candidate needs to register on the internship portal and obtain access credentials to participate in the process.
The selection process will consist of two stages viz. Preliminary Screening and Personal Interview. The process will follow a ‘quota cum weightage’ system whereby applicants belonging to all 28 States and 8 Union Territories will be considered. There may be 2 interns from each of the 28 States; 2 interns from each of the 8 Union Territories and 3 more interns with maximum marks from TADP districts / underprivileged sections of the society. A minimum of 30% of the 75 internships may be filled by women candidates. Weightage will be based on academic performance assessed by the percentage of marks obtained in +2 and graduation exams.
Candidates should apply online only. State-wise merit lists will be prepared – separately for male and female candidates – by elimination based on academic performance in +2 and graduation exams. Priority will be given to applicants from TADP districts during the Preliminary Screening stage and to applicants belonging to SC/ST/OBC/EWS categories in the Personal Interview stage.

The total number of candidates called for interview will be three times the interns to be engaged in each term. Candidates selected in the merit lists will be called for a personal interview to be conducted by video conferencing. A maximum of 75 candidates will be selected from the interview process and offered
internships. If any selected candidate opts out, the next candidate in the merit list from the individual state will be offered opportunity.

During the course of the internship, the selected candidates would be introduced to various aspects of the functioning of the Ministry, its attached offices, the public interface of the Ministry and its role in helping the Indian citizens, as well as a possible visit to one of the Missions abroad, subject to prevailing conditions.

Important Links

OFFICIAL NOTIFICATION – WEBSITE

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