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.

Cooperation between the two nations was ramped up over a decade ago, but the Indian government preferred to keep a low profile, until now. An image published on Wednesday morning depicts an ongoing strategic development: India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is seen visiting the Israel Aerospace Industries exhibit at the Aero India exhibition in Bangalore.

Is India’s Narendra Modi administration guilty of reducing the country’s strategic foreign policy discourse to a pedestrian level so much so that New Delhi has turned into an object of ridicule in the international diplomatic circle? 

India is at a historic crossroads and this might well be a transformational phase in our foreign policy.  However, Prime Minister Modi needs to recognize that the magic of soft power works only when it carries traditional diplomacy along.

In a statement on Twitter, Mr. Modi said he conveyed “best wishes” to the Pakistani prime minister for the 2015 Cricket World Cup, as well as to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani, Sri Lanka President Maithripala Sirisena and Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. “Cricket connects people in our region & promotes goodwill,” Mr. Modi said in another tweet. 

The government is trying to get yoga recognized throughout the world as India's cultural property. Since his election last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a Hindu nationalist and devout yoga practitioner, has persuaded the U.N. to announce an International Day of Yoga and has even appointed a minister of yoga in his cabinet.