PRAVASI BHARATIYA DIVAS

HISTORY:

The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was taken in accordance with recommendations of the High Level Committee (HLC) on the Indian Diaspora set up by government of India under the chairmanship of L. M. Singhvi. The then Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, received the report of the Committee at a public function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 8 January 2002, and announced the “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas” (PBD) on 9 January 2002. The day was chosen to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India in 1915.

The occasion is marked by special programs to recognize the contributions of NRI/PIO individuals of exceptional merit, felicitate NRI/PIO individuals who have made exceptional contributions in their chosen field/profession (Pravasi Bharatiya Samman ( NRI/PIO Award)) and provide a forum to discuss issues and concerns of people of the diaspora. The event has been organized every year since 2003, and is sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), initially sponsored by FICCI.

The 8th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas took place on 7–9 January 2010 and was webcast live at the official Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs website, also covered live on social media via live blogging and live tweeting at Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, an online platform powered by Kotak Mahindra Bank.

An investment facilitation platform for overseas Indians, the Overseas Indians Facilitation Centre, was launched by India’s Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, with a view of strengthening ties with the diaspora for partnering in India’s growth story on the occasion.

 In 2006, the concept of Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) was launched during the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention at Hyderabad on 9 January.

The 2012 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was held from 7–9 January 2012. The venue was Jaipur, Rajasthan. Chief Guest of this event was the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Ms Kamla Persad-Bissessar

In 2013, 11th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in Kochi from 7–9 January, where the Indo-Canada Chamber of Commerce (ICCC) is organising partner of the summit.^[5] The President of Mauritius, Rajkeswur Purryag, was the chief guest at the official inaugural session.^[6] Canadian Minister Jason Kenney became the first individual of non-Indian heritage to address the gathering.

The 2013 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was held from 8–9 January 2013 in Kochi, Kerala. Chief Guest of this event was the President of Mauritius, Rajkeshwar Purryag.

In 2014, Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was held in New Delhi and was attended by 1,500 delegates from 51 countries. President Pranab Mukherjee gave the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards.

The 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held during 7–9 January 2015 at Mahatma Mandir, Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The Theme for this year was “Apna Bharat, Apna Gaurav”.

 The 2015 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held in Ahmedabad celebrating 100 years of Mahatma’s return to India. Chief guest was Mr Donald Ramtar, President of Republic of Guyana. The theme for this was “Apna Bharat Apna Gaurav” “Connecting Generations”.

The 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which was supposed to be held during 7–9 January 2016 at New Delhi, was cancelled under the MEA’s decision to make the event biennial.

In 2017, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held from 7–9 January 2017 in Bengaluru. The theme of this edition was “Redefining Engagement with the Indian Diaspora”. The Ministry of External Affairs, under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, had used digital modes to reach out to Indians abroad. The campaign Digital India also played a major role in bringing the success to Pravasi Bhartiya Divas. The plenary session ‘Leveraging Social Media for Diaspora Connect’ held on 9 January 2017, at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas looked at social media as a medium in connecting the Indian Diaspora. The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was held during 7–9 January 2017 at Bengaluru, Karnataka. The theme for this year was “Redefining engagement with the Indian diaspora”.

The 16th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2018 was held during 6–7 January 2018 at Marina Bay Sands, Singapore.

The 17th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas 2019 was held during 21–23 January 2019 at Varanasi, India. Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth was the chief guest.

Recent Developments: In 2015, the Government of India did away with the PIO card scheme and merged it with the OCI card scheme. All PIO cardholders were urged to convert their PIO card to OCI card for availing more benefits.