After independence India led non-aligned foreign policy in the Cold War that opened the country for influence from both Moscow and Washington. The USSR designed a special development model for the “Third World” based on the Indian case. From the mid-1950s the Soviet Union engaged in Indian economic development and created a Public Diplomacy program to support and promote Socialist Modernization. This program sought to influence Indian public opinion toward the left without focusing on supporting the Communist Party of India. Based on previously unexplored Russian, Indian, American and British archival data, this thesis explores the objectives of the Soviet Foreign policy in India. It also contributes to the understanding of the Cold War as a global phenomenon. The thesis analyses Soviet Public Diplomacy efforts in different spheres using case studies. It specifically looks at the activities of the Institute of Oriental Studies, the main Soviet think tank on India during the Cold War. It sheds light on relations between Soviet and Indian Communist Parties. It dwells on American Public Diplomacy agency’s work in India. This thesis also tackles three specific Soviet Public Diplomacy efforts: film export, educational exchange, and books publishing and distribution. This research focuses on events around the 1962 Sino-Indian border conflict that put the Soviets in uncomfortable position in India. Despite the ongoing Sino-Soviet split, Indians were wary of a possible alliance between the two communist countries.