About 30 million people of Indian origin form the global Indian diaspora. They wield economic, intellectual and political clout in several countries of the world. A number of Indian-origin politicians have become the rulers and political leaders in several countries. [...] The Indian diaspora abroad has a history going back to hundreds of years.

The government today has made a shocking announcement which has an immense impact on India’s foreign policy. The All India Radio which runs numerous regional language channels is all set to air a Balochi language programme which can be heard by the Baloch people living in Pakistan’s Balochistan province. 

Strisvara, an all-women musicand cultural exchange project, will take place in Bengaluru come September 10. Organized by Arun Sivag and NH Subhash Gowda — the 18-day residency and concert tour programme will see female musicians from the US, Sweden, Spain and Nepal engage in music with independent Indian artistes, along with those from native Soliga tribe of Biligirirangana Hills. 

Sino-Indian relations saw an upswing when Chinese President Xi Jinping visited India in 2014, and India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, returned the visit in 2015. Both leaders agreed to focus on improving bilateral relations through commerce and trade. China agreed to partner with India in accelerating its economic development by investing in various infrastructural projects and also setting up manufacturing facilities in India.

The theme of Art Bengaluru 2016 is to “Celebrate the World with the Spirit of India”. This year’s edition aims to provide a platform for the global exchange of art and culture with participation from 8 international artists from France, China, Amsterdam, Netherlands, Israel and Peru, apart from an association with international cultural institutes including the Alliance Francaise, Instituto Cervantes, Italian Institute of Culture and the British Council.

The British Council India has come up with initiatives to launch new digital platforms under their campaign 'UK-India Year of Culture' with the aim to connect with the digital generation youngsters of India and UK culturally. [...] "We want to connect with the 4G generation who would like to travel with us digitally. Smart phones help connect with the younger generation and is one way to strengthen the cultural exchange between India and UK."

Kerala Tourism, in association with United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) is all set to organize a mega International event Spice Route Culinary Festival which will be attended by prominent chefs and embassy representatives from 31 countries that are part of the Spice Route Initiative.

It is the imperative to include overseas Indians in India’s economic development and to take care of their needs and aspirations. Successive governments have been vying with each other to give more and more concessions to them as acknowledgment of their contribution by way of remittances, investment, lobbying for India, promoting Indian culture abroad and for building a good image of India by their intelligence and industry.