The plan, a part of the foreign office's "public diplomacy" initiatives, will start with a national, multi-stage essay-writing competition among the over 10,000 students at the central schools, but could then be expanded to other educational institutions as well, officials said.

India with its quest for attracting greater foreign direct investments (FDI) has stepped up its diplomatic efforts around the world. These have gained a renewed vigour after the country relaxed FDI norms and shortlisted as many as 25 sectors to attract investments under the ambitious ‘Make-in-India’ programme.

Britain will mark the recently- declared 'World Yoga Day' by the United Nations with a mega event on June 21, in what may be seen as India's growing "soft power" in the world.

In November last year, artists from India and China got together at Diggi Palace in Jaipur for a week-long art residency project called ‘Maitri’. It was a cultural dialogue to promote peace using art as a tool.

Prime Minister  Narendra Modi is planning to visit Sri Lanka's ancient capital Anuradhapura during his trip to the island nation next month, a move aimed at pushing India's soft power and projecting the country's Buddhist links in the region. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Monday said it was time for India to "realize the potential of soft power" as an important strategy for external affairs and foreign relations.  "India should leverage its great traditions and culture in forging ties with countries around the world in a way that is deeper, more personal, and therefore, far more powerful," he said.

As part of its public diplomacy initiative, the spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs will participate in a live question-answer session on Facebook on India’s external engagements on Tuesday. The 45-minute session will start at 3:30 p.m. during which Ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin will answer various questions.