Is India a soft power? This question has been asked so many times that it almost sounds like a cliché. But it comes back to haunt India every time a group of armed men makes the aspiring global power go down on its knees. It happened in Kandahar.

Maximum India, a 20-day cultural extravaganza of Indian soft power, kicks off here on March 1 with scores of artistes set to enthrall a capital where India is now looked on more favourably than ever before.

Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Friday said that "Sanskriti Express", a special exhibition train to commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore is set to go on a cultural exchange programme to Bangladesh on an invitation by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.

Following a year marked by a number of diplomatic strains with its neighbours, China will look to boost its public diplomacy initiatives in coming months to address concerns about its rise, officials said this week.

For nearly three weeks next month, America’s most famed and busiest performing arts facility will be transformed into a high temple of India’s varied culture. The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, will celebrate India with an extraordinary fare of classical, folkloric and contemporary masterpieces from the country.

Over these long years Indians have perfected many cultural attributes that may be appealing to the rest of the world - what Joseph Nye likes to call 'soft power’. Some good examples of Indian soft power are Yoga, Bollywood, Ayurveda and the great Indian cuisine (including curry and chicken tikka).

India is an ancient civilization with five thousand years of recorded history. Over these long years Indians have perfected many cultural attributes that may be appealing to the rest of the world - what Joseph Nye likes to call 'soft power’. Some good examples of Indian soft power are Yoga, Bollywood, Ayurveda and the great Indian cuisine (including curry and chicken tikka).

Despite the booming information technology industry that has made it "the back office to the world," India still lags far behind nimble China in the race to provide universal internet access to its citizens.But as prices for smart phones plunge and India's cost-slashing mobile service providers get ready to roll out broadband-ready 3G networks, India is poised to leapfrog the PC and take pole position in the mobile internet revolution