India has provided 74 scholarships in Indian institutions of learning to Maldivian students who wish to pursue their studies in India, the Indian High Commission said in a statement Monday.  "India attaches the highest importance to its relations with the Maldives and is committed to cooperating with the Maldives in its developmental efforts," the statement read.

Chinese President Xi Jinping has said China will never seek to impose its will on other nations, no matter how strong it becomes.  With this speech, China's president had one clear goal: sending a message of reassurance to China's neighbours and other nations further afield watching this nation's rise, who wonder what sort of great power it may turn out to be.

The relationship between India and Maldives has changed much from what it was in the post-independent 1960s. After setting up its harbours in the island nation, now China’s use of soft power is gaining strength. 

India’s foreign policy establishment, which counts Bollywood as a key aide in spreading the nation’s footprint globally, is readying to pay the film industry back — literally — to stave off embarrassing jibes and potential litigation. The foreign ministry is purchasing the rights for India’s embassies and consulates to screen 25 popular Bollywood films after some diplomats, including at least two foreign envoys, pointed out that the legality of screenings by missions at present is dubious.

For a man who delivered the biggest mandate for a single party in several decades through unprecedented leverage of digital space, it is but natural for Prime Minister Narendra Modi to seek the same space as a platform for good governance. Modi gave an inkling of things to come in his ‘victory speech’ after the election results were declared on May 16. It was not a winding, rhetoric-filled public speech but a short and crisp Twitter message, “India has won. Good days are ahead”.

The Scottish Development International (SDI), the trade and investment arm of the Scottish Government, announced the launch of its campaign ‘Scotland Welcomes the World’, in collaboration with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) in Mumbai. 

Foreign education is both a vital 'export' service that earns sizable revenue, and a powerful connector between countries and peoples. Then why are education facilities for foreign students treated as a neglected orphan in India? 

Sheikia Norris, known lyrically as “Purple Haze”,  was born and raised in the birthplace of Hip Hop itself—the Bronx, New York. Sheikia earned her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from Johnson C. Smith University, and she has worked in health education and arts education for over eight years.  She was part of the Next Level, a crew of American hip-hop artists who performed at the American Center, Kolkata. She speaks to BE’s Abhijit Ganguly.