15^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day)

History

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day) is a celebratory day observed  on 9 January by the Republic of India to mark the contribution of the overseas Indian community towards the development of India. The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915.

The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was taken in accordance with recommendations of the High Level Committee (HLC) on the Indian Diaspora set up by government of India under the chairmanship of L. M. Singhvi (L M Singhvi). Then the Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee after receiving the report of the Committee at a public function at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on 8 January 2002, announced the “Pravasi Bharatiya Divas”(PBD) on 9 January that year. The day was chosen to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to India in 1915.

The occasion is marked by special programs to recognise the contributions of NRI/PIO individuals of exceptional merit, felicitate NRI/PIO individuals who have made exceptional contributions in their chosen field/profession (Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Hindi: NRI/PIO Award)) and provide a forum to discuss issues and concerns of people of the diaspora. The event has been organised every year since 2003, and is sponsored by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the CII (Confederation of Indian Industry), initially sponsored by FICCI.

15^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (Non-Resident Indian Day) Focus

Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. For the first time, the three-day-long convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh mela in Prayagraj and attend the Republic Day parade in New Delhi.

The theme of this year’s convention is ‘role of Indian diaspora in building new India’, a statement from the prime minister’s office said. The Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth will be the chief guest of the Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention, while Himanshu Gulati, member of Parliament of Norway, will be the special guest. 

PM launches Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched the Pravasi Teerth Darshan Yojana under which a group of Indian diaspora will be taken on a government-sponsored tour of religious places in India twice a year.

The first batch of 40 Indian-origin people are at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and from here they will begin their tour.

They will be taken to religious places of all major religions in India and the government will bear all the expenses including the airfare from their country of residence.

All people of Indian-origin aged 45 to 65 can apply and a group will be selected out of them with first preference given to people from ‘Girmitiya countries’ such as Mauritius, Fiji, Suriname, Guyana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Jamaica.

Venues

 Quiz

Question 1: Who is the Chief guest on 15^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas?

A) Lee Hsien Loong

B) Frank Bainimarama

C) Sitiveni Rabuka

D) Pravind Jugnauth

Question 2: Who was the chairman of High Level Committee (HLC) on the Indian Diaspora set?

A)Kamal Nath

B) Atal Bihari Vajpayee

C) Yashwant Sinha

D) L. M. Singhvi

Question 3: The First Pravasi bharatiya diwas was held in which city?

A)Mumbai

B)New Delhi

C) Jaipur

D) Kochi

Question 4: What is Theme of 15^th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas?

A)Non-Resident Indian our brother

B) ‘Role of Indian in building new India’

C) ‘Role of Indian diaspora in building new India’

D) ‘Role of Non Indian in building new India’

Answer

1-D

2-D

3-B

4-C

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas PDF