Fresh SSB batches start around the 1st & 15th of every month.
🌍 What is Soft Power
- Soft power is the ability to influence through culture, values, diplomacy, and ideas — not force.
- India’s soft power pillars: civilisation, culture, democracy, diaspora, diplomacy, development assistance, and global public goods.
📊 Global Standing & Rankings
- India ranks among top 30 countries in global soft power indices.
- Global Soft Power Index 2024: India ranked 28th.
- Highest scores in:
- Culture & Heritage
- International Relations
- Education & Science
- Media & Communication Reach
🕌 Civilisational & Cultural Soft Power
- India: one of the oldest continuous civilizations (5,000+ years).
- Yoga:
- Practised in 190+ countries.
- UN adopted International Day of Yoga (21 June) with record support from 177 countries.
- Ayurveda & Traditional Medicine:
- Promoted globally; WHO Centre in Jamnagar, Gujarat.
- Indian festivals (Diwali, Holi) celebrated worldwide.
🎬 Entertainment & Popular Culture
- India: largest film-producing country (1,500+ films/year).
- Indian cinema popular in Middle East, Africa, Central Asia, South-East Asia.
- Music, OTT content, and cultural exports growing rapidly.
🌐 Indian Diaspora Power
- Largest diaspora globally: ~32 million people of Indian origin.
- Major destinations: USA, UK, UAE, Canada, Australia.
- Remittances: USD 125+ billion annually (highest globally).
- High representation of Indian-origin leaders: heads of government, CEOs, academics, scientists.
🎓 Education, Knowledge & Ideas
- Hosts international students from 160+ countries.
- Global recognition of IITs, IIMs, AIIMS.
- Digital Public Goods (DPGs): Aadhaar, UPI, CoWIN — adopted/studied globally.
🕊 Diplomacy & Moral Authority
- Follows strategic autonomy and non-alignment.
- Advocates multilateralism, peaceful coexistence, Global South leadership.
- G20 Presidency (2023):
- Theme: Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam (“World is One Family”).
- Africa Union inducted as permanent member (India-led push).
💉 Humanitarian & Vaccine Diplomacy
- Vaccine Maitri: Supplied vaccines to 100+ countries during COVID-19.
- Disaster relief: Rapid response to earthquakes, floods, conflicts.
- Development assistance: Lines of Credit to 60+ developing countries.
🧘 Spiritual & Philosophical Influence
- Philosophies: Ahimsa, Dharma, Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam.
- Mahatma Gandhi: global icon of peace, referenced by civil rights movements worldwide.
📱 Digital & Technological Soft Power
- DPI model admired globally.
- UPI: 12+ billion transactions/month; linked with other countries’ systems.
- India leads in affordable, scalable tech solutions.
⚠️ Limitations & Challenges
- Soft power conversion into strategic outcomes is uneven.
- Language barrier limits global spread of intellectual output.
- Need for better cultural branding and institutional support.
- Competing soft power centres: US, China, South Korea.
📌 One-Line Data Summary
- 32 million diaspora | 190+ countries practising Yoga | 100+ nations aided during COVID | Top-30 global soft power rank
Conclusion
- India’s soft power is civilisational, democratic, inclusive, and non-coercive.
- Its strength lies in credibility, trust, and moral influence — especially among developing nations and the Global South.
