The institute functions under the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.

[1] "The Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service" was established by the Government of India in 1986 primarily to cater to the professional training needs of the trainees of the Indian Foreign Service and use to run from two rooms in Akbar Bhawan.

The training programme of the Indian diplomats goes on for about a year, during which they are taught various aspects of India's foreign policy, international relations, Indian history and culture, Indian and the world economic scenario, communication and interpersonal skills, and the like, before they take up posting within the Ministry of External Affairs and sent abroad later.

The SSIFS moved to its new building in 2007 in the old JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) campus in New Delhi.

The institute was renamed as Sushma Swaraj Institute of Foreign Service on 14 February 2020 in honour of former Minister of External Affairs of India Sushma Swaraj on her 68th birth anniversary.