Bangalore Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017 to Focus on Diaspora Achievements

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017 or the annual global convention for the Indian diaspora, to be held in Bangalore from January 7 to 9, 2017 will focus on what the Indian origin NRIs and PIOs achieved in the last few years and an awards function at the end of it will felicitate some of them.

The event, to be attended by over 4,000 delegates from across the world will be opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Pranab Mukherjee will present the awards on the last day. The Bangalore event will be the first full-fledged festival of diaspora Indians under a new format adopted by the government last year.

Dhyaneshwar Mulay, Secretary, Overseas Indian Affairs, said, “Highlight of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2017 is social innovations by Indians, 20 social innovations will be highlighted and there will also be a contest of innovators and the winner will get an award of Rs.1 lakh.”

Muley said all sessions will be held in plenary format to allow more interaction with delegates from overseas to convey their suggestions to the government directly. “The sessions will focus on immigration and the role of diaspora organisations,” he said.

The event initially raised several eye-brows over the rumour that participation from the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan would make it different this year but no confirmation has been made so far about it.

The theme this year is ‘Redefining engagement with Indian diaspora’ and the event exhibition would showcase the achievements of the government in various sectors, and the delegates can also explore business opportunities in India and connect with government officials, business owners and entrepreneurs.