MEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE OF MINISTRY OF EXTERNAL AFFAIRS FOR RETURN FROM ABROAD IN INDIA|INDIA UPDATES
Channel: KNOWLEDGE INFO
Date: 2020-08-27

The Ministry of External Affairs (abbreviated as MEA; IAST: Vidésha Maṃtrālaya) of India, also known as the Foreign Ministry, is the government agency responsible for the conduct of foreign relations of India. The Ministry comes under the Government of India and is responsible for India's representation in the United Nations. It also advises other Ministries and State Governments when the latter have dealings with foreign governments or institutions.
The Ministry was initially the Ministry of External Affairs and Commonwealth Relations, a holdover from the British Raj. It was renamed the Ministry of External Affairs in 1948.[5] Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru held the portfolio as an additional charge till his death in 1964 and it was only then that a separate Minister with Cabinet rank was appointed. The ministry is responsible for the administration of Naga Hills, Tuensang Area, Indian Emigration Act of 1923, the Reciprocity Act of 1943, the Port Haj Committee Act of 1932, the Indian Merchant Shipping Act in so far as it relates to pilgrim ships, the Indian Pilgrim Shipping Rules of 1933, the Protection of Pilgrims Act of 1887 (Bombay) and the Protection of the Mohammedan Pilgrims Act of 1896 (Bengal) are also the special responsibility of the Ministry of External Affairs.

The Ministry is the cadre controlling authority of the Indian Foreign Service, the service is wholly under the administration and supervision of the External Affairs Ministry.