Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
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| Pravasi Bharatiya Divas | |
|---|---|
| Name | Pravasi Bharatiya Divas |
| Genre | Conference |
| Frequency | Annual |
| Country | India |
| First | 2003 |
| Organiser | Ministry of External Affairs |
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is an annual conference and commemorative event instituted by the Ministry of External Affairs to engage with the Indian diaspora. It brings together members of the Indian community from countries such as the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Kenya, Mauritius, Malaysia, New Zealand, Germany, France, Netherlands, Italy, Russia, Japan, China, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Spain, Portugal, Ireland, Belgium, Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Austria, Turkey, Greece, Israel, Egypt, Nigeria, Ghana, Ethiopia, Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Bahrain, Brunei, Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam, South Korea, North Korea.
History
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas traces to policy initiatives of the Government of India and was formalised following recommendations linked to the Non-Resident Indian (NRI) and Overseas Citizenship of India debates during the tenure of the National Democratic Alliance and the United Progressive Alliance; founding sessions involved figures from the Ministry of External Affairs, the Prime Minister of India, and diplomats accredited to missions like the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., the High Commission of India, London, and the Consulate General of India, San Francisco. Early editions engaged with policy makers from the Planning Commission (India), jurists from the Supreme Court of India, legislators from the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, and economic actors linked to the Reserve Bank of India, NITI Aayog, and multinational firms headquartered in cities such as Mumbai, New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Pune, Kolkata, Ahmedabad, Surat, Jaipur, Lucknow, Kanpur, Nagpur, Bhopal, Indore, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochi, Visakhapatnam.
Objectives and Significance
The event aims to strengthen ties between Indian-origin individuals and institutions including the Ministry of External Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs (India), the Ministry of Finance (India), the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (India), the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (India), trade bodies like the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Confederation of Indian Industry, and development partners such as the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations Development Programme, and Asian Development Bank. It provides a platform for diaspora entrepreneurs affiliated with Infosys, Tata Group, Reliance Industries, Wipro, Mahindra Group, HCL Technologies, Bharti Airtel, Aditya Birla Group, Larsen & Toubro, Steel Authority of India Limited, and investors from BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley to interact with policy makers from the Prime Minister of India, political leaders like the President of India, the Vice President of India, cabinet ministers, and ambassadors from missions including the High Commission of India, Pretoria and India–United Arab Emirates relations delegations.
Organisation and Format
Organisers include the Ministry of External Affairs, state governments such as the Government of Gujarat, Government of Kerala, Government of Maharashtra, Government of Tamil Nadu, and municipal bodies in host cities including New Delhi, Jaipur, Indore, Kochi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar. Programming involves sessions chaired by officials from the Ministry of External Affairs, guest lectures by academics from institutions like the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Indian Institute of Technology Madras, Jawaharlal Nehru University, University of Delhi, panels featuring representatives of NRI organizations such as the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin and professional networks tied to IEEE, ACM, American Association for the Advancement of Science, Royal Society delegates, and cultural presentations by artists associated with the Sangeet Natak Akademi and Film and Television Institute of India.
Themes and Events
Themes have ranged from Diaspora engagement topics like investment facilitation, remittances, cultural diplomacy, skills mapping and collaborations with entities including Make in India, Skill India, Startup India, Digital India, India Stack, BharatNet, Smart Cities Mission, Atal Innovation Mission, and partnerships with international frameworks such as the Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Agreement, Belt and Road Initiative (in discussions), and bilateral initiatives like India–United States relations, India–United Kingdom relations, India–UAE relations, India–Mauritius relations, India–South Africa relations, India–Kenya relations, India–Australia relations, India–Canada relations. Events include plenary addresses, sectoral roundtables on technology and healthcare involving leaders from Biocon, Sun Pharmaceutical, Cipla, Tata Consultancy Services, Google India, Microsoft India, Amazon India, Flipkart, and awards ceremonies.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Awards
The awards recognise individuals from the Indian diaspora and include laureates such as entrepreneurs, academics, artists, and public servants connected to institutions like Harvard University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, Oxford University, Cambridge University, University of Melbourne, University of Toronto, McGill University, National Institutes of Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, World Health Organization, and honorees with ties to honours like the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri, Bharat Ratna, and other national recognitions. Recipients have held positions in corporations including Alphabet Inc., Meta Platforms, Inc., Tesla, Inc., Apple Inc., IBM, Siemens, Schneider Electric, Shell plc, ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies.
Participation and Impact
Participation spans elected officials, diplomats from delegations such as the Embassy of India, Washington, D.C., corporate delegations from NASSCOM, SEBI, Stock Exchange of India (NSE), academia including IIT Delhi, IIM Calcutta, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, civil society leaders from Tata Trusts, Azim Premji Foundation, media professionals from entities like The Times of India, Hindustan Times, The Hindu, Indian Express, BBC News, The New York Times, The Guardian, Al Jazeera, and representatives from international organisations such as the United Nations, International Labour Organization, World Trade Organization. The event has influenced policy instruments like the OCI (Overseas Citizen of India), remittance facilitation by RBI, diaspora investment through India Development Foundation of Overseas Indians frameworks, and bilateral engagements in trade missions and technology partnerships.
Criticisms and Controversies
Critiques have referenced transparency concerns involving selection processes compared against standards practiced by bodies like the Central Vigilance Commission (India), debates over the political messaging akin to partisan rallies observed in contexts of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Indian National Congress campaigns, controversies over awardee choices connected to controversies in Corporate scandals in India and compliance matters scrutinised by regulators like the Enforcement Directorate (India), Income Tax Department (India), and questions about representativeness raised by diaspora groups from regions such as the Gulf Cooperation Council, African Union member states, and critics citing engagement models used by other diaspora forums like Jewish Federations, Irish Diaspora Policy, Chinese Overseas outreach.