Festival of Indian Culture in Russia represents cultural exchange and contributes to stable strategic relations between Russia and India, President of India Pranab Mukherjee said on Sunday at the opening ceremony of the festival. Nine Russian cities will hold the Namaste Russia festival that will last from May until November 2015.

Interestingly, the ‘Himalayan tragedy’ provided India with a readymade opportunity to score brownie points over its main rival and neighbour China on aid diplomacy and the Narendra Modi administration grabbed the opportunity with both hands. Although China had overtaken India as Nepal’s largest foreign investor in 2014, Beijing failed to catch up with New Delhi’s humanitarian diplomacy on this occasion.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon be completing his first full year in office. While he has his critics, there tends to be broad agreement that Modi has done a robust job in the sphere of foreign policy. Modi’s approach has focused on economics, soft power, connectivity, and maritime security. Modi has been deft at using what Joseph Nye has dubbed “smart power” – the right blend of soft power and hard power.

A first-ever centre dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in China will be opened next week on Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Shanghai, the last city on this three-day tour to China. The centre for Gandhian studies will be launched by PM Modi on Saturday afternoon at the prestigious Fudan University in Shanghai, shortly before the prime minister concludes his visit with a community reception.

A first ever centre dedicated to Mahatma Gandhi in China will be opened next week on Saturday when Prime Minister Narendra Modi visits Shanghai, the last city on this three-day tour to China. 

Russia marked 70 years since the victory over Nazi Germany on Saturday with a spectacular parade in Moscow featuring some 16,000 soldiers, 200 armored vehicles and 150 planes and helicopters. This is expected to be the last major anniversary of the conflict when significant numbers of World War II veterans are still alive to take part.

On May 1 UW-River Falls hosted two Indian teachers as part of a cultural exchange program established by President Barack Obama. Designed to strengthen collaboration between American and Indian higher education institutions, students and faculty at UW-River Falls College of Education and Professional Studies (CEPS) listened to a discussion about India’s school systems and their techniques for educating disabled children.