Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Odisha from January 9, President to confer awards on diaspora
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Odisha’s Bhubaneswar on January 9, while President Droupadi Murmu will preside over the valedictory session on January 10, the official statement said on Sunday.
The statement said President Murmu would confer the ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2025’ on members of the Indian diaspora to honour their contributions in various fields in India and abroad.
PBD convention is the flagship event that provides a platform to connect with the Indian diaspora.
The 18th PBD is being organised by the Ministry of External Affairs(MEA) in partnership with Odisha government. The event will be held from January 8 to 10 in Bhubaneswar.
The theme of this year’s PBD convention is “diaspora’s contribution to a Viksit Bharat”, for which Indian diaspora members from over 50 different countries have registered, the statement said.
The convention will also feature a virtual address by the chief guest, President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago Christine Carla Kangaloo.
The statement also said, on the occasion, Modi will remotely flag-off Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special tourist train for the Indian diaspora. The train will depart from Delhi’s Nizamuddin Railway Station and would travel to multiple destinations across the country for three weeks. The train has been launched under the Pravasi Teertha Darshan Yojana of the MEA.
