The Ministry of External Affairs is going to use documentaries to showcase India in the international arena as a part of its effort to strengthen India’s “soft power”. The External Publicity & Public Diplomacy (XPD) Division of Ministry of External Affairs has invited proposals from filmmakers to make documentary on “India—a science and technology super power” and three separate documentaries that will cover the architectural, cultural and natural heritage of India.

Digital diplomacy is the use of internet and new information communication technologies to help achieve diplomatic objectives. [...] On this side of the globe, India is leading the way on digital diplomacy. Despite a modest budget in public diplomacy, India’s ministry of external affairs’ Facebook page with more than 1.2 million followers has come second only to the US state department among foreign ministries in the world. 

The Ministry of External Affairs is the most active wing of the Modi government on Twitter with 130 official Twitter accounts, revealed an RTI response. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Cabinet number 2, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, have two accounts each for information dissemination and ensuring quick response during any crisis.

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.

India to focus on diplomacy for development in 2015, says SwarajExternal Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj has said that 2014 was a year of breakthrough diplomacy for India, and added that New Delhi will in the next year focus on diplomacy for development with a new vision and renewed vigour.

Indian diplomats are increasingly using Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and country-specific social media networks to stay in touch with the world.

The secretary for public affairs is expected to be a nodal post dealing with visa issues, Haj issues and other publicity and public diplomacy matters. The new secretary would also be responsible for aligning the four divisions within the ministry to ensure smooth functioning.