Even while rustling up investments worth billions for India, PM Narendra Modi constantly looks like he's having fun. Instead of the formal press meetings and handshaking that typified our previous PMs, this one is ensuring he's having a good time, and casually changing the rule book of how diplomacy is conducted.

"Venezuela has a lot to offer in terms of art and culture. We have already opened a cultural centre in New Delhi. ICMEI is going to be the extension of our efforts. All are invited to be a part of these two centres at Noida and Delhi. We have grown much bigger in one day," said the Ambassador, appreciating the large network of 162 countries of ICMEI.

“When MasterChef kicked off here in India, there were some ­racial issues with people getting beaten up, taxi drivers and all the rest of it,” Mehigan said while signing plates. [...] when MasterChef started, it all turned around. It’s what embassy people call “soft diplomacy”...

In an interview to IANS, Zhao Qizheng, Vice-Chairman of Foreign Affairs of Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), said Chinese businessmen were “not clear” about rules and business environment in India. [...] Zhao maintained that “public diplomacy” could help both sides understand the issues related to doing business in each other’s countries.

While Prime Minister Narendra Modi remained intact in the list of top 10 leaders in the world with the most Twitter followers, it was the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj who broke into the list for the first time, an annual global Twitter ranking has revealed. [...] "@SushmaSwaraj is the most followed female world leader with 5 million followers at 10th spot

The concept of ‘soft power’ and its relevance in contemporary politics as an instrument of diplomacy is being increasingly used by nations across the world in conducting their foreign policies. [...] It will try to seek a better understanding of the changing dynamics of soft power in India- South Korea relationship as pertains to Korean television channels in India and the significance of K-pop or popular Korean music especially in the north eastern parts of India.

Though both sides indulged in diplomatic nice ties regarding the non-confrontational nature of the collaboration, with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani inviting other countries to join in developing the port, Islamabad’s precarious economy can hardly permit such participation. 

Indian expat music lovers, corporate houses and diplomatic missions in China came together to form for the first time a cultural group called 'Chaiti' to promote Indian classical music among Chinese by holding annual music shows with top Indian musicians.