Corporate India Friday underlined the need for much better economic engagement with people of Indian origin in Africa at a well-attended event to mark the 150th anniversary of the arrival of the first indentured labourers here from India.

The Commonwealth Games in Delhi were billed to be a glorious statement of arrival, an opportunity for India to showcase its emergence as a global power, to even demonstrate to the world its ability to match, albeit on a smaller scale, the Chinese grandeur in hosting a global event.

A Gandhi topi, a traditional Nigerian riga robe, a Baluchi turban, Inuit (Eskimo) stone sculptures from northern Canada, Bengal’s “pata chitra” and rare snapshots of historic Delhi are some of the highlights of the collective soft power of Commonwealth arts and culture on display in the capital.

Troubles besetting the New Delhi Commonwealth Games have thrown a fresh spotlight on the grouping's long-term decline, but a role in facilitating behind-the-scenes diplomacy will ensure its continued survival.

In an attempt to create awareness and goodwill that may help win orders, state-run Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel) is holding health camps in African countries such as Libya and Sudan among others to tap the growing demand for power generation equipment there.

India is considering introducing the teaching of Mandarin in state schools... According to Chinese diplomats, India responded tepidly to a proposal by Beijing to establish Confucius Institutes, which teach Chinese, in the country’s main centres of learning.

Baimurat Allaberiyev, a diminutive 37-year-old popularly known as Tajik Jimmy for his rendition of “Jimmy, Jimmy, Jimmy, aaja, aaja, aaja” from Mithun’s 1983 hit Disco Dancer, is poised to become an icon for the Indian foreign ministry’s programme to showcase the country’s “soft power”.

The first batch of athletes arrived in India for the Commonwealth Games on Friday, opting to stay at a hotel instead of unfinished, filthy accommodation as the future of the showcase event hung in the balance.