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

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED
prevailing hardship conditions and to justify the corresponding rate. The Department of State
Standardized Regulations 920 established the schedule for submission of the post differential
survey in January of even years.
Recommendation 42: Embassy New Delhi should submit completed post differential surveys
for all posts in Mission India. (Action: Embassy New Delhi)
All four consulates general are late in submitting hotel and restaurant surveys, which are
used to update lodging and meals and incidental expenses for their respective per diem rates.
Consulate General Mumbai last submitted a survey in 2007, Consulates General Chennai and
Hyderabad in 2006, and Consulate General Kolkata in 2008. In accordance with Department of
State Standardized Regulations 074.32 and 920, posts must complete the hotel and restaurant
survey in November of even years or whenever there are substantial changes in hotel costs. The
current published rates of per diem do not accurately reflect the prevailing cost of lodging and
meals in each location.
Recommendation 43: Embassy New Delhi should direct the consulates general to complete the
required hotel and restaurant surveys. (Action: Embassy New Delhi)
International Cooperative Administrative Support Services
The ICASS system is functioning adequately at New Delhi. The council chairman has
prior experience in the position, and representation on the council is normally at the agency-head
level. A budget committee allows wider and deeper participation in developing and addressing
issues for presentation and decision by the council. The chairman is working to improve
communication between budget committee members and their principals to facilitate council
deliberations and actions. He also had a performance assessment for the ICASS service provider
prepared that covered the latest rating period and focused on improving communication and
feedback. It identified areas for improvement, including performance metrics, the housing
process, and meeting standards. The council has been supportive of the service provider’s efforts
to build the ICASS staff to match the growth of programs and program personnel, particularly
during the mission’s rapid expansion of personnel in the past 2 years.
Consulate General Hyderabad functions as a program post with no ICASS staff. No other
agencies operate from the consulate general at the present time, although LE staff representing
the Foreign Commercial Service and CDC work from a hotel or their homes in Hyderabad.
ICASS support for those employees comes from either Consulate General Chennai or Embassy
New Delhi, although, in reality, they derive some support from Consulate General Hyderabad.
As the consulate management staff is only supporting Department operations, program rather
than ICASS allotments fund the costs for all management personnel and operations. The OIG
team considers this a workaround that should be brought into conformity with the principles of
ICASS. Moreover, the system now in place precludes other agencies from assigning U.S. directhire
personnel to Hyderabad, as technically there is no ICASS administrative support system
there to allow it.
Recommendation 44: Embassy New Delhi should normalize the administrative support of other
agency personnel in Hyderabad under International Cooperative Administrative Support
Services. (Action: Embassy New Delhi)
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