Embassy New Delhi, India and Constituent Posts - OIG - US ...

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human resources and financial management, are centralized in the embassy. The MCCA needs a
senior LE staff member who would be the primary liaison for all of CTI on such administrative
issues and would also be an assistant to the MCCA on issues such as strategic planning. The
duties of the position would be similar to those of the LE staff member who is the management
analyst/special assistant for the consul general in Embassy London.
Recommendation 27: Embassy New Delhi, in coordination with the Bureau of Consular
Affairs, should establish and fill a locally employed staff position that would serve as a
management analyst and special assistant in support of management issues for Consular Team
India. The position would be attached to the office of the minister-counselor for consular affairs
in Embassy New Delhi. (Action: Embassy New Delhi, in coordination with CA)
Innovative Practice: Consular Training Database
Issue: With 320 employees in Consular Team India, it is a constant challenge to ensure that
American and LE staff members are developing their professional skills.
Response: Building on an Access database that was created by Embassy San Salvador, Embassy
New Delhi’s information technology staff created a Web-based, user-friendly course tracker. It
provides a suggested training schedule for each employee and a record-keeping system for
managers to review. The database contains a series of position training profiles for all categories
of consular LE staff and officers. These profiles list the courses that are required or
recommended for each job category, including FSI distance learning courses, FSI workshops,
FastTrac training, cross-training at post, and other professional development activities such as
learning how to draft cables. It is designed for long-term use over 10 years for LE staff members.
Mandatory courses are highlighted to distinguish them from optional courses.
Result: Consular managers at all five posts in India have noted an increase in the course
completion rates. In New Delhi, for example, LE staff had a 19-fold increase in the number of
completed distance learning courses in 2010 compared to the previous year.
Rising Consular Workload and Resource Issues
Both the ACS and NIV workloads are increasing in Mission India. In ACS, the growing
trade and investment between the United States and India is leading to a significant increase in
the number of American citizens who are moving to India for business and work. More
American tourists are discovering India. Most important, there is a growing surge of U.S.
citizens of Indian origin who are returning to live and work in India. As bilateral cooperation on
law enforcement and counterterrorism grows, the number of extradition cases is also increasing.
NIV applications are already up 19 percent countrywide over the same period in FY
2010; nevertheless, consular managers in New Delhi had to reassign officer resources from NIV
to ACS, which is the higher priority. In the consular package in December 2010, the embassy
asked for three additional ELO positions in New Delhi. These positions are urgently needed
because of the increase in both ACS and NIV work. To cope with the rising NIV demand, two
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