15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention from January 21

The 15th annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention will be held from January 21 to 23 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

The Convention would be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Political leaders from all over the world too would attend this event.

The theme of PBD Convention 2019 is “Role of Indian Diaspora in building New India”.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated once in every two years to strengthen the engagement of the overseas Indian community with the Government of India and reconnect them with their roots.

During the Convention, selected overseas Indians are also honored with the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to recognize and honor their contributions to various fields both in India and abroad. Only one Sri Lankan, Deshamanya Mano Selvanathan, the Chairman of Sri Krishna Corporation and a director of the Carson Cumberbatch Group has received this award so far.

This year the organizers have planned to host Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention prior to the Indian Independence day (January 26) enabling visitors to attend the Independence Day celebrations as well.

The opening day of the event would be on January 21, 9 30 a.m. onwards where Joint inauguration of ‘Youth PBD’ by External Affairs Minister and Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Youth Affairs and Sports, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, would take place.

Special Guest for the event would be Member of Parliament, Norway, Himanshu Gulati. The Guest of Honour for ‘Youth PBD’ would be Member of Parliament, New Zealand, Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi.

US Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard will also participate in the event. She will attend the youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 21, 2019 along with Indian-origin politician Himanshu Gulati from Norway.

The Plenary Session will follow until 12 noon where the visitors would get the opportunity to network with Younger Members of Indian Diaspora.

“This session will open out unlimited opportunities for the young Indian Diaspora to engage with New India. Uttar Pradesh PBD is a unique opportunity for Pravasi from Uttar Pradesh to reconnect with the roots,” an official form the organizers said.

During the post lunch session participants would get an opportunity to interact with Banaras Hindu University Students (Banaras Hindu University Campus) and this would be followed by a dinner hosted by Chetan Chouhan, Minister of State for Sports & Youth Welfare for Pravasi Bharatiya Divas participants. Inauguration of Uttar Pradesh State Pravasi Bharatiya Divas too would be held during these sessions.

A Cultural programme showcasing dance and music of Uttar Pradesh is scheduled to be held in the evening which is to follow with a dinner hosted by Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath, for State Pravasi Bharatiya Divas participants.

The second day of the 15th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention 2019 would be inaugurated on January 22.The Keynote address would be made by Chief Guest, Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth which would be followed by the address by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

India External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath will also speak at the event.

A book complied by Prof. Reshmi Ramdhony from Mauritius would also be released while “Bharat Ko Janiye Quiz” award ceremony too would be held during the pre-lunch session.

During the Plenary Session II, Developing Cyber Capacity of India would come under discussion.

The subject at the third plenary session would be, ‘Giving Back to India: Opportunities and Challenges’. A Cultural Programme organised by Indian Council for Cultural Relations would be held prior to the dinner hosted by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj.

‘Indian Community Organizations Working for Indian Nationals in Distressed Situation’ would be discussed during the Plenary Session IV on Day 3 and this would be followed by ‘Indian Diaspora’s Role in Capacity Building of Artificial Intelligence in India’ discussion.

The subject for Plenary Session VI would be ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in Capacity Building for Affordable Waste Management’. ‘Role of India Diaspora in Capacity Building for Affordable Solar Power’ will be theme for Plenary Session VII during the post lunch session.

The Valedictory Session and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards Ceremony will begin at 5 p.m. and the Chief Guest would be by Indian President Ram Nath Kovind who will present the awards.

On day 4, (24 January, Thursday) several excursions have been organised to visit holy bathing at Sangam (Prayagraj). Millions of people visit Prayagraj during the Kumbh Mela which is the world’s largest peaceful gathering of people which ends on March 15.

On Day 5, after Kumbh Mela, participants would travel from Prayagraj to New Delhi to witness the 70th Indian Republic Day event on January 26.

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is an important platform for the Government’s engagement with the overseas Indian community and recognition of their contribution to the development of India.

An Exhibition, titled “Ancient India : Modern India” is being organized to portray significant developments and progress made by the Government of India, highlighting specific schemes and initiatives launched by the Government and various State Governments,including schemes meant for Indian Diaspora like NRI voting etc. In addition, an “Indian Handicrafts and Cultural Bazaar” too would be held from January 21 to 23 at the PBD venue at Varanasi.

An official from Global Organization of People of Indian Origin Sri Lanka branch said that already a 20 member’s team from Sri Lanka including leader of the Upcountry Peoples Front (UPF) MP. V. S. Radhakrishnan, H.H. Wickramasinghe and Easwaran Deivanayagam, Managing Director Eswaran Brothers Group would attend this event. Former Sri Lankan trade unionist, politician and government minister P. Chandrasekaran has attended the event since 2009.

The Indian Embassy in Sri Lanka too is promoting the event and have had several programmes to promote it. “Interested persons could participate for the event by registering at the PBD official website,https://pbdindia.gov.in/en”.

Note: The writer is a member of the Colombo Municipal Council and has also attended many Pravasi Bharatiya Divas conventions. She also participaqted in the ‘Know India Program’ (KIP) in 2012.