For too long, India has ignored the changing political narrative in Nepal. We remained content that Indian interests were safeguarded by quiet diplomacy even when Nepali leaders publicly adopted anti-India postures — an approach started by the Palace in the 1950s and adopted particularly by the Left parties as a means of demonstrating “nationalist credentials.” Ignored by India, it has had long-term negative consequences. Appropriately targeted public diplomacy initiatives are necessary to address this.

This year, the state may miss its quota of international students who come to study various undergraduate courses under the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scholarship scheme.  According to ICCR officials in Delhi, Bangalore University (BU) is to be blamed for this.

With Narendra Modi saddled in the Prime Minister’s Office strongly and effectively, the nation is moving towards evolving and utilising its status as a soft power.  India’s achievements in areas like films, education and broadcasting are expected to help enable this quest of the Modi government. 

In the first three months after the December 2012 incident, foreign female tourist arrivals dropped in India by 35 percent. It hasn't helped that since then, there have been a spate of sexual assault cases involving attacks on Western female tourists, including women from theUnited States, Switzerland, Denmark and Britain. Recently, Great Britain joined a long list of countries to issue travel advisories cautioning their citizens about visiting India.

Media in India are praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi's performance at the Brics summit in Brazil amid calls for better ties with China.  Papers feel the PM's "debut on the world stage" has put India "squarely on the path of pragmatic internationalism".

A new international development bank and multi-billion emergency lending pool will be setup by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. The move comes at a summit meeting of BRICS leaders in Brazil.

Iran’s Cultural Heritage, Tourism and Handicrafts Organization (CHTHO) and the Indian Council of Cultural Relations have signed a memorandum of understanding.  The two countries have agreed to expand collaboration in cultural heritage and tourism activities, he added.

As the BRICS Summit meets hot on the heels of the FIFA World Cup, also in Brazil, a remarkable trend is apparent. Most of the major global sports events such as the World Cup and the Olympic Games are taking place in the emerging powers of the 21st century. Russia, China and South Africa are all hosting the World Cups or Olympics along with Brazil in recent years. This phenomenon reflects a trend to adopt global sports events as a diplomatic tool to enhance prestige and become more socially accepted in the established world order.