While the Indian diaspora and students have achieved recognition in field of arts, sciences, engineering, technology and humanities, Indian educational institutions do not perform well in world rankings, said a report presented in the Parliament on Friday.
The Parliamentary Committee on External Affairs, in its report, suggested that the government should make concerted efforts to “improve the standard of our universities, institutes and learning centres at par with international norms so that India can emerge as a sought after destination for education”.
In the report titled “India’s Soft Power and Cultural Diplomacy: Prospects & Limitations”, the panel said that the country should give special focus on its cinema as an instrument of soft power and take steps to popularise it’s films abroad, including regional cinema.
“The committee are of the strong view that added emphasis needs to be given to the global imprint of our cinema as an instrument of soft power while taking effective steps to celebrate and popularise our movies abroad, including regional cinema,” it recommended in the report.
The panel further said that “Indian television news may not yet have made any impact globally, the Hindi film industry, popularly known as Bollywood, has emerged as one of the most notable examples of global entertainment emanating from outside the Western world”.
In view of the surge in yoga teaching and centres across the globe, the committee recommended that the AYUSH Ministry, in collaboration with the External Affairs Ministry, should constitute a Yoga Certification Board for certifying Indian yogic practices and therapies.
“Collaboration with the Indian diaspora should also be encouraged to disseminate yoga training abroad, in regions where it is not yet popular,” it said further.
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