Date: 16th April 2020

Time and duration: 11:00 am, Approx One Hour

Resource Person with affiliation: Dr. Vinay Sahasrabudhe, President, ICCR

Program Theme:Leadership talk

Objective: Insight into Soft power of India in post- Covid world and opportunities for youngsters
Benefit in terms of learning/Skill/Knowledge obtained: Understanding the importance of Soft power
Overall report of the activity:
An innovative and informative session was held on 16th April, 2020 in which Dr. Vinay Sahasrabudhe
(President, ICCR) was in discussion with Dr. Abhay Jere (Chief Innovation Officer, MHRD, Govt of
India.) Amidst this difficult situation of Covid-19, Dr Vinay talked about how India will rise using its
soft power in post Covid-World and will also create more opportunities for youngsters. Soft power was
coined by Joseph Nye in late 1980s which is the ability of a country to persuade others to do what it
wants without force or coercion. In other words soft power is not about occupying geographical area it's
about occupying the mind area.
India is an experience and one cannot understand India without experiencing it. India is an enigma to
others due to diversity of India and due this non-Indians are not able to connect with the India. This
enigma could be removed with our efforts, our academic efforts and efforts in other aspects to ensure
that people understand India and if global community develops a deeper understanding of India, Indian
civilisation, Indian culture, the soft power will increase meaning fold. In this state of crisis where
everyone is feeling lonesome, disheartened, insecurity of future, uncertainty all around we all stand as
one family and we must work towards soft power to overcome the post-Covid situations. It was a
knowledgeable session which provided us better understanding of soft powers.