Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated on 9th January every year to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. It also aims to strengthen the engagement of the Indian diaspora with the Government of India and reconnect them with their roots.
January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventions are being held every year since 2003. Since 2015, its format has been changed to celebrate the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas once every two years and to hold theme-based PBD Conferences during the intermittent years.
These conventions provide a platform for the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities.
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards are presented to recognize the contribution of meritorius Non Resident Indians and People of Indian Origin.
PBD Convention 2021 was held in virtual mode due to international travel restrictions on account of Covid 19 pandemic.
On the occasion of 2022 Pravasi Bhartiya Divas, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V. Muraleedharan will speak at a virtual Youth PBD Conference on the “Role of Indian Diaspora in Innovation and New Technology.”
There are 32 million people of Indian origin, constituting world’s largest overseas diaspora.
People of Indian origin make up majority in Mauritius at 65% of the total population. UAE (42%), Qatar (40%), Guyana (40%) Trinidad & Tobago (35%), Fiji (34%), Saudi Arabia (23%) and Kuwait (22%) are other countries having sizeable Indian origin people.
Numerically the United States has the highest number of people of Indian Origin at 4.4 mn, followed by UAE 3.4 mn, Malaysia 3.0 mn, Saudi Arabia 2.6 mn and Myanmar 2.0 mn. UK, Canada, Sri Lanka, South Africa and Kuwait each have million plus Indian diaspora.
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ON THIS DAY 