India will celebrate the ‘Diaspora in the Era of Amrit Kaal’ on the 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas from January 08 to 10, 2023, in Indore, Madhya Pradesh.
“More than 3,500 participants from almost 70 different countries will participate in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2023,” said Ausaf Sayeed, External Affairs Ministry Secretary in the Consular, Passport & Visa and Overseas Indian division.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi will do the formal inauguration of the PBD convention on January 09,” he said, adding, “We have Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana, as the Chief Guest and Mr Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of the Republic of Suriname as the Special Guest of Honor.”
Ministerial-level delegations from Mauritius, Malaysia, and Panama and big delegations of diaspora from several countries, including Mauritius, UAE, USA, Qatar and Oman, will attend the event.
“We have five plenary sessions planned in the PBD on the themes of Youth, Healthcare, Soft power, Indian Workforce and Woman. Four of these sessions would be headed by Cabinet Ministers and again, this is the very first time that we have Cabinet Ministers for various sessions, and the panelists are drawn from different walks of life, “he said.
Arrangements have been made for a particular programme on the G20 where the G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, as well as G20 Coordinator, Harsh Vardhan Singla, will give a presentation on India’s G20 Presidency.
As customary, Sayeed said that the first day would be the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, and Minister of Youth Affairs Anurag Thakur and External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar will deliver the inaugural address.
“We have Ms. Zaneta Mascarenhas, Member of Parliament of Australia as the Guest of Honour and she will deliver a special address. We will also have the participation of Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh Shivraj Singh Chouhan,” the Secretary said.
A special plenary on this day will also be held on the ‘Role of Diaspora Youth in Innovations and New Technologies.
He also stated that the Government of Madhya Pradesh is doing the Global Investor Summit immediately after the PBD. “There will also be an opportunity provided to the participants to get a feel of the cultural heritage of Madhya Pradesh. There will be visits to Mahakal Corridor in Ujjain. There will also be visits to places in Indore such as Mandu and other places”.
On the second day, Prime Minister Modi will inaugurate the PBD, and there will be two plenary sessions.
“One session will be on the ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in promoting Indian Healthcare Ecosystem in Amrit kaal’, this would be chaired by Dr Mansukh Mandaviya, Union Health Minister. In this session, Foreign Minister of Panama, Ms Janaina Tewaney Mencomo, will be one of the panellists”.
Other Union Ministers, Dharmendra Pradhan and Meenakshi Lekhi, will also address the PBD convention.
ICCR will also organize a cultural program.
“On the last day, one session will be on the ‘Enabling global mobility of Indian workforce – Role of Indian diaspora’. This will be chaired by Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. In this session also, we have Ms Fazila Jeewa-Daureeawoo, Minister of Social Integration and Social Security of Mauritius as one of the panelists,” the Secretary said.
Another panel discussion will be on ‘Harnessing the potential of women Diaspora entrepreneurs towards an inclusive approach to nation building’, chaired by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
The highlights of the valedictory session will include President Droupadi Murmu conferring the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards to 27 awardees, and she will also deliver the valedictory address.
For the first time, there will be awardees from countries that have yet to receive the awards, such as Brazil, Croatia, Denmark, Uzbekistan, the Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
