This plan was very successful. Not only were hundreds of restaurants opened in the USA, European countries, South Africa, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand, but thousands of Thai youth were also employed. The discussion of Thai food spread, new recipes were discovered (such as Pad Thai Noodles), and even featured on TV shows. The number of tourists going to Thailand in search of exquisite delicacies increased, and sex tourism decreased. Not only did Thailand improve its image, but its soft power was also promoted through its cuisine. Now, by watching videos on YouTube, people cook Thai dishes in their homes, and for this import food items from Thailand (like galangal, kaffir lime, Thai brinjal) whose cultivation is also benefiting the farmers there.Indian food is no less delicious, and our food is praised all over the world. Why then should it not be considered the soft power of India, and why should it not be promoted? Punjabi, Mughlai, South Indian cuisines are well-known, but the cuisines of other states, regions and tribes of India can also be presented through marketing, advertising and media reviews around the world. Not only can millions of youths be given chef training, they can also be given food entrepreneurship training. Why not open Awadhi, Rajasthani, Assamese or Chhattisgarhi restaurants in cities like New York, London, Paris, Melbourne?The state of Chhattisgarh is in the forefront in this matter as well, and is promoting its local fruits and vegetables. Not only this, Chhattisgarh is promoting their organic farming, so that it can be sold to health-conscious people in the country and abroad.Chhattisgarh is reaping the benefits of these two lessons, and this should be followed by other states as well. A team of academics, researchers and scientists including Dr Sukant Khurana, Raamesh Gowri Raghwan, Aakshat Sinha, Dr Abhijeet Banerjee and others are making an effort in this regard so that other states can follow suit too and farmers of our country could reap benefits.(Ashish Kumar Singh is studying politics at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia).
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