NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the two-day 13th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas(PBD), a event which celebrates the achievements of migrant Indians, in Gujarat on January 8, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of Mahatama Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa.
Announcing this here today, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj said Gujarat had been chosen for this year’s event as Gandhiji, who was the first ‘Pravasi Bharatiya (migrant Indian), returned to his state on January 9, 100 years ago and because of that the highlights of the two-day event relate to his work and achievements. Mr Modi, when he was Gujarat Chief Minister, had written to then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, expressing his desire to hold the 2015 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Gujarat in view of the state’s association with Gandhiji. While the event will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister on January 8, President Pranab Mukherjee will honour prominent pravasis(migrant Indians) on January 9. She said the PBD was conceived by former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee but the successive events failed to realise the purpose behind his vision. But this time, the PBD would be different, she added.
Ms Swaraj said the 2015 PBD will be marked by many novelties. For the first, the coming PBD would have a plenary after the inaugural session in which different Union Ministers would make a presentation about the flagship programmes of the government like Namami Ganga, Swatchh Bharat among others and invite NRIs and other people of Indian origin to participate in them. Besides, there would be separate sessions on ‘Girmitya’ , as these Indian migrants to countries like Mauritius called them. There would be a separate session also on Indian migrants in Gulf countries and French speaking countries. In addition to this, there would be a plenary on the achievement of the Indian diaspora.
The Chief Ministers’ session will take place as usual. Earlier on January 7, youth segment of the PBD will be inaugurated on the theme of ‘Bharat ko jano’ and ‘Bharat ko mano’, the purpose of which would be to familiarise the children of migrant Indians with the traditions and history of the country and its modern day achievements in different fields like science and technology.
Ms Swaraj said there will also be a session of making India which would be addressed by Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry Nirmala Sitharaman .
She said about 3,000 Pravasi Bharatiya were expected to take part in the event and so far 10 chief ministers including those of Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Nagaland had confirmed their participation.
Replying to a question, the External Affairs Minister said the Election Commission was working on the proposal of enabling NRIs to vote in the elections and expressed hope that some solution would be found soon. Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel, who also addressed the press conference, said Gujarat government has made all arrangements for the event. She said after the PBD, the Gujarat government has organised a two-day Vibrant Gujarat Summit, in which entrepreneurs and companies desirous of investing in the state will participate in a big way. She also invited the participants in the PBD to stay on for the Summit.
Sports minister Sarbananda Sonowal, whose ministry is the partner ministry in the PBD, was also present. (AGENCIES)
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