The 3-day 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD 2017) convention began in Bengaluru on Saturday. On the first day, the Youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was inaugurated by Vice President of Suriname Micheal Ashwin Adhin, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh and Karnataka Ministers R V Deshpande and Priyank Kharge.
Speaking on the occasion, Suriname Vice President Adhin said, India has the potential to become the super power. He said, the youth should give attention to minimize the extinction of natural resources. Mr Adhin said, youth PBD is an unique opportunity for economic and cultural ties.
In his address, Minister of State for External Affairs Gen V K Singh said, the common thread that binds the diaspora is the enduring connect with India. He said, the nation and the Government offer the diaspora the best it has. Gen Singh also spoke about many programmes for the diaspora youth.
Human Resources Development Minister Prakash Javadekar has said, India offers seamless opportunities for Non-Resident Indian, NRI students to study and pursue their dream careers in India. He was speaking at the 1st plenary session at the youth Pravasi Bhartiya Divas on the theme reaching out to students both in India and abroad.
Mr Javadekar encouraged NRI students to avail the benefit of PM scholarships. He emphasised on quality in education and human resources development. Mr Javadekar said, his Ministry has created national academic depository to streamline transcription and verification of documents. He informed that HRD Ministry is working towards internship opportunities for NRI and OCI (overseas citizens of India) students.
During the discussion, the panel received suggestions from delegates on enhancing education opportunities for NRI Students.
The main convention will be inaugurated tomorrow by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Guest of the event, Prime Minister of Portugal Dr Antonio Costa. President Pranab Mukherjee will confer Pravasi Bhartiya Samman on Monday.
Our correspondent reports that the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention is a very important platform for engagement of the Central and state governments with the Overseas Indian Community.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has been held traditionally on 9th January every year to commemorate the return of Mahatma Gandhi as a Pravasi from South Africa to India.