New Delhi, Jan. 9 -- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Friday stated that hiring lobbying firms is a "standard practice" for countries, embassies, business establishments, and private organisations to strengthen outreach with stakeholders, in response to queries on recent filings under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) in the United States, which mentioned the Indian side engaging with its US counterparts through such firms.

Speaking at a weekly press briefing, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal emphasised that this has been a longstanding norm, noting that India has been hiring such lobbying firms since the 1950s.

"This is a normal practice in Washington DC and in the United States of America: that countries, embassies, ...