15th Edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Concludes

President confers Pravasi Bharatiya awards on 28 overseas Indians and two organizations

Chandra Shekhar Mishra, Gita Gopinath, Gitesh Jayantilal, Prakash Madhavdas Heda from the US are among the Honorees

VARANASI(TIP): The three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Sammelan concluded here on January 23, with President Ram Nath Kovind delivering the valedictory address and conferring the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards on 28 eminent personalities and two organizations of the Indian diaspora for their contributions and achievements in various fields.

“Happy to have conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman on 30 members of our diaspora. We value your committed efforts to promote India and to work for the welfare of Indian community abroad. You are a living bridge between India and the world,” President said.

According to a list provided by the External Affairs Ministry, the awards were conferred in the fields of social, community and public service, business, business management, entrepreneurship, chartered accountancy, training and simulation, science, medical science, engineering, technology, architecture, academics, arts and diplomacy.

Nihal Singh Agar, known for his services to the Hindu community in Australia, was conferred the award under the category of social service.

Two organizations — Indian Community Association of Egypt and Guyana Hindu Dharmic Sabha — and Swami Saradaprabhananda of the Ramakrishna Centre of South Africa, got the award for community service.

Himanshu Gulati, a Member of Parliament in Norway, and Shamim Parkar Khan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were honored for public service.

Under the business category, Ramesh Chotai of Canada, Amit Waikar of China, Bitthal Das Maheswari of Italy, Bhavdeep Singh Dhillon of New Zealand, Vinodan Verambally Thazhikuniyil of Oman and Girish Pand and Surender Singh Kandhari of the UAE were honored.

President Ram Nath Kovind presenting Pravasi Bharatiya Samman to an honoree.

While Banwarilal Satya Narayan Goenka was conferred the award in the field of business management, Rajesh Chaplot of Uganda got it for chartered accountancy, Jagdeshwar Rao Maddukuri of Poland for entrepreneurship, and Purnendu Chandra Tiwary of Qatar for training and simulation.

In the field of medical science, Guna Sekhar Muppuri of Jamaica, Prakash Madhavdas Heda of the US, and Zulekha Daud of the UAE were honoured.

Rajendra Kumar Joshi of Switzerland and Chandrashekhar Mishra of the US were honoured for their contributions in the field of science.

Rajinder Nath Khazanchi of Bhutan got the award for civil engineering, Gitesh Jayantilal Desai of the US for structural engineering, P.V. Sambasiva Rao of Kenya for technology and Rajpal Tyagi of Kuwait for architecture.

Malini Ranganathan of France and Gita Gopinath of the US were honoured for their contributions in the fields of academics and arts.

Veteran South African diplomat Anil Sookal was conferred the award in the field of diplomacy.

Earlier, the PBD  got off to a start on January 21, with the External Affairs Minister inaugurating the Youth PBD.

External Affairs Minister is speaking at the Youth PBD on January 21. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath is seen on left.

In her inaugural address, the External Affairs Minister said India is a land of limitless opportunities,  and Pravasi Bharatiyas are and will continue to be partners in  progress of our motherland. She emphasized that shared identity and shared commonness are the key features which bind us together which will grow manifold in years to come. The Minister said that the story of Pravasi Bharatiyas is a tale of courage, determination and  character and cited the examples of  Google CEO, Sunder Pichai, Microsoft COO Satya Nadella, IMF Chief Economist Gita Gopinath to name a few. She thanked the diaspora for kindling a new wave for India abroad

Union Minister of State Information and Broadcasting (independent Charge) and Sports and Youth Affairs, Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore spoke about the unique and binding force of Indian identity and said Pravasi Bharatiya community is India’s best Ambassador. He urged them to join in the building of a New India. The Minister lauded the role of NRIs in preserving their cultural values and respect for the motherland.

Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh, Yogi Adityanath said Uttar Pradesh looks up to the diaspora community for its valued contribution. 30-year-old Norwegian MP, Himanshu Gulati recalled the journey of his parents from India to Norway 40 years ago. He said that natural resource are our biggest assets and youth must imbibe the values of Mahatma Gandhi, ‘Be the change you want to see’.

Guest of Honor, MP from New Zealand, Kanwaljeet Singh Bakshi said  Agriculture and Horticulture are key areas in which India and New Zealand can collaborate. The MP put up the request for Dual citizenship and Nomination of NRIs to Rajya Sabha for active participation in politics. He urged people to take pride in their culture and heritage. Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas has been organized with a view to share the ideas for a New India among the NRI  youth  and the generation next back home

Prime Minister  Narendra Modi inaugurated the PBD Convention on January 22. The Convention deliberated on the theme- Role of Indian Diaspora  in building  New India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi ready to light a lamp to inaugurate the Convention in the presence of Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Jugnauth (extreme left). EAM Sushma Swaraj is seen on the right.

Observing that his government helped changed perceptions regarding the country in the last four and half years, Modi said, “Earlier, people used to say India cannot change… but we have changed that perception and this mindset itself.” Addressing the over 4,000 NRI delegates from about 85 countries, he said that India is the fastest growing economy in the world and also urged the Indian diaspora across the to participate in the building of new India.

A group of honorees with President Kovind

Mauritius Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth, the chief guest this year, surprised the audience by speaking in Hindi. Addressing the audience yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi described NRIs as brand ambassadors of the country. While observing that people of Indian origin are in leadership roles in many countries including Mauritius, Portugal and Ireland, he said, “I consider NRIs to be India’s brand ambassadors. They are the symbols of our capacities and capabilities.”

The 15th edition of the PBD was organized by the External Affairs Ministry in partnership with the government of Uttar Pradesh.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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