Wednesday, January 10, 2007: On the occasion of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas being organized by the Ministry of Overseas Affairs, the Delhi Government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the annual Pravasi Bharatiya Divas awards were conferred on 15 overseas Indians.

President Abdul Kalam graced the occasion on its inaugural day. Addressing the 1,100 strong gathering of NRIs and PIOs from 130 countries, Kalam shared his vision of an India in 2020, eliciting a warm applause from the audience.

Schoolchildren from the Sarvodaya Vidyalaya, Jorbagh, performed under the direction of blind music composer Kedarnath Mukherjee at the ceremony. Moved by the rendition of the Hindi version of “Ignited Minds”, President Kalam took the composer by surprise as he walked up and embraced him. The gesture endeared the President to the audience, lending a light moment to the event.