Over 2,000 delegates are expected to participate in the 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held here from Monday. The theme of this year’s Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is ‘Engaging Diaspora – The Indian Growth Story.’
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will formally inaugurate the three-day event on January 8 and release a stamp commemorating the Gadar Movement.
President Pranab Mukherjee will present the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards, the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians, at the valedictory session on January 9.
Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi told reporters here that 15 persons would be selected for the awards and the names would be announced at the annual diaspora conclave.
The Mauritius President Rajkeswur Purryag will be the chief guest on the occasion.
Session on Gulf
The PBD will begin on January 7 with a session on NRIs in the Gulf. This is the first time an entire session has been dedicated for the NRIs in the Gulf, the Minister said.
The theme of the session, to be inaugurated by Ravi, is to boost economic and social engagement with the diaspora in the Gulf. An ‘India Migration Report 2013’ will be released.
The Minister pointed out that illegal migration of Indians to the Gulf has come down and he attributed it mainly to various advertisement campaigns run by the Ministry. The advertisements have been very effective and helped in creating awareness, he added.
On the UAE amnesty, he said around 1,100 Indians had applied for passports through the Embassy till December 29.