BRICS, grouping Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, has set a distinctive example of great powers rising with "soft power," said Boris Martynov, deputy director of the Russian Academy of Sciences' Latin America Institute.

Many Indian analysts accept their country is unlikely to make good the economic and developmental gulf that separates the two regional rivals, but say that India's "soft power" and "cultural influence" is an advantage.

If the BCCI gets together with the ministry of external affairs, the potential for track two, or 'doosra' diplomacy can be exploited to the fullest with countries with whom we have outstanding issues. The 'doosra' may well prove more productive than the mainstream efforts of our envoys because it appeals directly to the masses.

The initiative is a part of the larger exercise to expand people-to-people contacts that includes “IndiaAfrica: A Shared Future,” a programme led by the IdeaWorks, a private company, and supported by the external affairs ministry, that seeks to create a dynamic platform for students and professionals across India and Africa to collaborate through competition, innovation and entrepreneurship.

India is taking steps to expand links with Russian universities in an effort to reach out to this country’s younger generation... last week India’s Ambassador to Russia Ajai Malhotra signed an agreement on establishing a Centre of Indian Studies at the Kazan Federal University that will be headed by an Indian professor.

Seib is the author of Real-Time Diplomacy, a study of politics and social media that will be published in April. He says that stories about ordinary people have a real impact on foreign policy...