The Indian diplomat today needed to introspect on how his or her practice of the art of diplomacy and the tools used for it, must adapt, or change, in response to the challenges in the world and the decentralisation of the international landscape, she said.

Rao, the second Indian woman to head the elite Indian Foreign Service, stressed the need for 'future oriented strategies' to address issues such as personnel strength and interaction with academic and research institutions as part of a 'retooling' process.'

Citing note in 1953 by India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru about administrative reforms, Rao sent a clear message across that Indian diplomats needed to adapt to changing global realities or else fail.

-Indo-Asian News Service

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