New Delhi: The Standing Committee on External Affairs has reiterated its recommendation to the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to constitute a coordination committee on soft power projection and cultural diplomacy with other line ministries and departments in a report tabled in both Houses of Parliament Friday.
A line ministry is one that is involved in managing an activity or policy with regards to an issue — in this case, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports or the Ministry of Culture would also do activities abroad to promote culture or ‘soft power’. The activities would not come under the MEA but the specific line ministry in charge of the programme.
The parliamentary panel had previously made this recommendation in its 16th report on ‘India’s Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy: Prospects & Limitations’, laid before the Lok Sabha on 5 September 2022 and the Rajya Sabha on 12 December 2022.
The MEA then submitted its action taken report to the committee in June this year. However, the ministry in this response had only “noted” the observation about constituting a coordination committee. Thus, the panel chaired by Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP P.P. Chaudhary reiterated the point in its report on action taken by the government on its recommendations, tabled Friday.
“The Committee had noted that the MEA itself had identified the lack of coordination among multiple institutions as a key factor enabling effective conduct of India’s soft power but nothing was being done to establish any coordination mechanism,” it said in the report.
After three brainstorming sessions, NITI Aayog, the government’s apex think tank, had also suggested the creation of a coordination committee consisting of representatives from all concerned ministries, the committee had noted in its 16th report.
The committee also reiterated that the MEA should undertake a formal study of international best practices in soft power projection on a ‘priority basis’. The findings of this study should be factored into the formulation of India’s soft power projection and strategy, it reported.
The committee recommended that the MEA take “immediate steps” for assessing India’s soft power potential so that strategies for its “optimum utilisation” can be deployed to achieve India’s foreign policy objectives.
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Adequate ICCR budget
In its 16th report, the committee had raised the issue of non-availability of adequate financing, ‘derailing’ India’s soft power projection, and had recommended a 20 percent increase in the budgetary allocation for the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR).
In the latest report, it has highlighted that it is looking forward to the MEA ensuring adequate allocation of funds to the ICCR to carry out its mandate.
The committee also recommended the creation of a study group to assess the working of the ICCR in comparison with foreign counterparts. The MEA had responded to this recommendation by noting that ICCR would put up this recommendation to its governing body.
In its response, the committee urged the MEA to avoid such a ‘precious loss of time’ and complete all modalities at the earliest and to keep the committee apprised of the progress in this regard within three months of the presentation of its report.
The committee was also surprised by the lack of an Indian cultural centre in the entire Gulf region. It called for the MEA to prioritise opening such a centre in the region while urging it to overcome procedural bottlenecks to open cultural centres in Washington, DC, Paris and Tel Aviv at the earliest.
The committee was also not satisfied with the MEA response with regards to ensuring that adequate opportunities are provided to cultural troupes from border states or states with tribal populations to go abroad and present their art. It noted that no action had been taken in this regard by the ICCR or the MEA and reiterated its recommendation.
(Edited by Smriti Sinha)