Pravasi Bharatiya Divas To Be Organised In Bengaluru From 7 January

The Ministry of External Affairs on Monday announced that the annual overseas Indians' gathering - "Pravasi Bharatiya Divas" - will be held from 7-9 January in Bengaluru. Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) on 8 January in the presence of Prime Minister of Portugal Dr Antonio Costa, the chief guest at the convention.

Speaking on the decision to hold the convention once in two years, Secretary for Overseas Indian Affairs Dnyaneshwar M. Mulay said the convention is becoming somewhat repetitive in nature, and therefore, the format has changed and now it would be held once in two years.

Currently, there are 3.12 crore overseas Indians globally, of which 1.34 crore are Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) and 1.7 crore Non-Resident Indians (NRI). The theme for the upcoming convention, being organised in association with the government of Karnataka, is "Redefining engagement with Indian diaspora". More than 4,000 delegates are expected to attend the PBD convention.

With inputs from IANS