New Delhi, Feb 27 (PTI) Several members of a parliamentary panel on Thursday pitched for more fund allocation to the Ministry of External Affairs to invest in boosting India's soft power abroad, training of its personnel and increasing its human resources at a time the country is looking to play a bigger role globally, sources said.

MPs at the Standing Committee on External Affairs voiced the view during a briefing by Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri on the "demands for grants of the ministry for the year 2025-26".

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Asked about the issue, the panel's chairman Shashi Tharoor said there was a general perception on the part of many MPs that the ministry's strength should be beefed up, particularly at the foreign services-level cadre.

He said, "There is some understanding on the part of all concerned that this needs to be done. There are some resource constraints in the amount of money given by the ministry."

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He, though, added that he was not at liberty to disclose the details until the committee adopted its report, which would then be tabled in Parliament.

"In the questioning (by MPs), there was a lot of sympathy for the need to have more human resources in the ministry," he said.

Tharoor said the committee was very interested to see the budget documents of the ministry and question Misri on its needs in order to project India's voice abroad.

Misri also informed the panel that India would be contested for an elected seat in the United Nations Security Council in 2028.

Tharoor said the questions by the members of the committee ranged from development aid budget, opening of new embassies and consulates, training of foreign service officers, and also Nalanda University and South Asian University, two establishments that come under the ministry.

A source said there was a view that India needed to spend more money to further boost its connect when the country was looking to play a bigger role globally.

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