The largest conference of overseas Indians will begin in New Delhi today. The eighth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), which connects 25 million Indian diaspora in 110 countries, will specifically discuss issues relating to Indian expatriates in the Gulf. The annual meeting will also come up with a concrete proposal to end the harassment of NRIs (non-resident Indians) in property-related issues in India. Besides making efforts to attract more NRI investments, the gathering will also discuss fake NRI marriages and labour problems in host countries.
The three-day PBD will be formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh tomorrow. However, the meeting will begin today with two seminars, including one on “property-related issues.” As many as 1,000 overseas Indians from around the world, including Bahrain, will attend. The event is being organised by the Overseas Indian Affairs (OIA) Ministry in co-ordination with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII). “Whichever country I go, I get complaints from Indians saying his land or flat was encroached. This is a serious issue which needs to be discussed and remedy found,” OIA Minister Vayalar Ravi told the GDN.
“The highlight of this year’s PBD meet will be property-related issues of the NRI.” The seminar will discuss institutional arrangements to safeguard the properties of overseas Indians in India as well as the modalities for credible investment avenues in the real estate sector. The first meeting of the Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council would also be held at Dr Singh’s residence today. The council, which was constituted in January last year, is based on the idea that the highly-skilled overseas Indian community represents a vast untapped resource that can be harnessed as an input in national development process. Mr Ravi said an annual Distinguished Global Indian Oration-series was also being launched this year.
For the first time, the PBD will be web-cast in an interactive mode on the OIM Ministry’s website (www.moia.gov.in), as well as its e-magazine Pravasi Bharatiya via the website www.overseasindian.in. This will enable overseas Indians to not only witness the proceedings of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, session-by-session, but also interact with the ministry and express their opinions. The PBD-2010 will conclude on Saturday with the valedictory address by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil. She will also confer Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards on distinguished PIOs/NRIs.
