Sunday, January 7, 2007: Fifth annual Pravasi Bhartiya Divas was inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, 07 January, 2007. The annual event organized by CII and the government of India, connects NRIs and PIO from all across the world. The event held at the Vigyan Bhawan, Delhi had the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore as the chief guest. Close to around 1200 delegates from 50 countries registered and participated in the event. United States is the largest team comprising of 250 members followed by Malaysia with 230 members.

There will be six plenary sessions with 22 working group sessions. This NRI event will have a total of 175 speakers, out of which 44 are from overseas.

The main issue of the event is to focus on social, education, healthcare, development and investment in India. The theme of the event emphasizes on the service of NRIs to their motherland. This includes their commitments and interest in uplifting Indian society and the country as a whole. Of late, NRIs have shown interest in different investment options available in India. They are now more flexible to investing in property, Indian companies, real estate, shares and equities.

The event will have delegates both from India and abroad. Some renowned overseas personalities are co-chairman of Indo-British Partnership Karan Bilimoria, management guru CK Prahalad, American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) president Subramaniam Balasubramaniam, Ontario Minister for Small Business and Entrepreneurship Harinder Takhar and Chicago-based India`s Knowledge Commission chairman Sam Pitroda

The Indian delegation comprises of people from the Indian ministerial cabinet and the corporate world. To name a few, the event will have Vayalar Ravi (Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs), External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, West Bengal Governor Gopal Krishna Gandhi, Ratan Tata, National Commission for Women chairperson Girija Vyas and former Indian ambassador to the US Abid Hussain.

Chief Ministers of different Indian states will be present in the interactive session to be held during the event. Investors from different countries would find this platform a lucrative medium through which they can explore investment avenues in India.

There will be cultural programs and other recreational activities during the meet. This includes folk dance from India, performance by Shiamak Davar’s troupe, sarod by Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and a dance performance by Malayali actress Shobhana.

The event will end on January 09, 2007, which will be addressed by the President APJ Abdul Kalam. He will address the gathering and present the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards to 10 stupendous persons of the vast Indian Diaspora.