Bengaluru to host next edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas

MEA team to arrive in city on April 25 to discuss modalities with govt

A team of officials from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will arrive in Bengaluru this month to discuss with the Karnataka government the modalities for holding the next edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas.

Bengaluru will host Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (Non-Resident Indian Day) early next year.

The three-day event is held from January 7 every year (now every two years) in an Indian city to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community to the development of India.

The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to
Mumbai in 1915. The event witnesses participation by top NRIs.

As a tradition, the event is inaugurated by the prime minister and the head of a state is invited as the chief guest.

Sources in the industries and commerce department said the MEA team, which will arrive in Bengaluru on a two-day visit from April 25, will discuss with the state government officials the various aspects, including the format and arrangements related to the event. In their preliminary list, the MEA has stipulated that the state government shortlist the venues with a seating capacity of up to 2,000, which also conforms to the security arrangements for the prime minister.

It has also written to the state government to identify 80 protocol officers for the event.

The sources said the state government would showcase investment opportunities, especially in the field of manufacturing, aerospace, information technology, industrial infrastructure, tourism among others, during the meet. The recent policy changes in land acquisition, clearances to industries as per the provisions of the Karnataka Industrial Policy 2014-19, will be also showcased.

Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas has been held since 2003 and it’s only for the seventh time that the event is being held outside New Delhi. On earlier occasions, the meet had been held in Mumbai (2005), Hyderabad (2006), Chennai (2009), Jaipur (2012) and Kochi (2013).  

Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the event to his home state of Gujarat in 2015. The Centre also decided that Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas will be held every two years and a limited version of the event will be organised in the intervening year.

Bengaluru will be playing host to the refurbished format of the event, wherein the Centre is likely to seek deeper engagement of the Indian diaspora in the country’s growth and development.

It will be also for the first time that the MEA will be directly sponsoring the event in the wake of the government’s decision to merge the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs with it.