(This story originally appeared in on Feb 23, 2015)

NEW DELHI: MEA is undergoing a slow and quiet restructuring. A long-time adherent to tradition, the foreign office is waking up to live and work very differently in the Modi government.For the first time, the Indian government has presented a strategic evaluation of the world to its diplomats and ambassadors. It is the first authoritative detailed assessment approved at the highest level of the political leadership, covering every region and international issues.Ambassadors from Japan to Norway, Russia to New Zealand will now be on the same page, giving them clear direction in terms of where New Delhi stands. With Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking a deep interest in foreign policy, MEA is learning how to do things differently.For long, Indian ambassadors had complained of apathy and non-responsiveness of New Delhi. While the evaluation is expected to assist diplomats in pushing India's interests in different parts of the world, it will also be used to assess the output of Indian envoys. They will have to work out their annual action plans and will henceforth be assessed on achievement of their targets.That the Indian foreign service has to wake up and smell the coffee was made amply clear during the recent conference of heads of missions. Modi has been clear in his pre-election messages that he expects a new kind of diplomacy. Last week, Indian diplomats listened to top business leaders from infrastructure, manufacturing and software sectors, who told them how embassies could up their game while pushing Indian business interests.Within South Block, MEA hands expect more changes in the weeks and months ahead. First, there is expected to be a reversal in the unstated adversarial relationship between PMO and MEA, especially since foreign policy is such an essential part of this government.Second, there is a move to break down the silos that inhibit holistic decision making in the foreign policy establishment. Part of the new thinking may be to institute a policy planning department which plays such a crucial role in say, US foreign policy decisions. India's MEA is led by powerful territorial divisions, which has served India well so far. In fact, "policy planning" in MEA has traditionally been palmed off to someone who was considered well, below par. That might change.The new foreign secretary S Jaishankar, has taken the first step by divesting himself of the crucial UN portfolio, a prized preserve of previous foreign secretaries. Sujata Mehta will now handle this portfolio. It's a sign that old turf and territories may no longer be sacrosanct.With citizens and NRIs posting complaints and suggestions on the government's new citizen-connect portal, mygov.in, Indian ambassadors have been asked to respond to complaints on the website, hoping this would cut down response time and make it a genuinely interactive platform. This year will see a big global push for yoga which has been an early international success for the Modi government.Indian embassies would have to become a lot more active on social media. Top bosses of YouTube, Facebook and Twitter showed ambassadors how these platforms could be utilized to improve their performance and be more accessible to the people. MEA's own publicity arm is now omnipresent on social media and the government has sought a similar approach from all Indian missions abroad.Significantly, MEA has collated a set of best practices followed by different embassies and missions around the world, which can be adopted in other centres. It works as an incentive for high-performing missions and it helps others to get ahead without reinventing the wheel every time. Fundamentally, these exercises are aimed at one thing - to enable the Indian foreign policy establishment, small though it is, to work as a more united force rather than shooting off in individual directions.