New Delhi: Two lifesize paintings of Mahatma Gandhi and a watercolour depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Chinese President Xi Jinping are among the array of artworks by a group of Chinese artists on display here. As part of celebrations to commemorate 65th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between China and India, the exhibition of artworks was unveiled late last evening

It is important to appreciate that cricket has for many years been the lifeblood of the Australia-India relationship. Historically, it has often been said that the Australia-India relationship is based on three things: cricket, Commonwealth and curry. 

Neighbourhood diplomacy can be tricky even at the best of times, because any two neighbours will have common but differening expectations of a good bilateral relationship. Viewed in this light, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s latest visit to Sri Lanka has gone off well, without setting the Palk Strait on fire. 

Prime Minister Modi's visit to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka might have been prompted to counter China’s growing influence in the region but it turned out to be a major demonstration of India's hard and soft power in the Indian Ocean neighbourhood.

Prime Minister Modi’s public pitch in the presence of Sri Lanka’s President, for "the early and full implementation of the 13th amendment and going beyond" may not have been the best conceivable projection of soft power, at the level of the Sri Lankan masses.

For years, Indians viewed their countrymen who emigrated abroad for better opportunities with suspicion – as if they’d somehow betrayed the motherland. (...)And the country’s new government is looking at the huge expatriate population – second only to China’s – as a valuable component of India’s foreign policy, in much the same way the Jewish diaspora in the US influences international opinion and policy on Israel.

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.

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.