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Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is celebrated on 9th January every year since 2003 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate this occasion since it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi, the greatest Pravasi, returned to India from South Africa, led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.
Since 2015, its format has been revised to celebrate the PBD once every two years and to hold theme-based PBD Conferences during the intervening period with participation from overseas diaspora experts, policy makers and stakeholders. These conventions provide a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and people of the land of their ancestors for mutually beneficial activities. These conventions are also very useful in networking among the overseas Indian community residing in various parts of the world and enable them to share their experiences in various fields.
Eighteen PBDs
To connect India to its vast overseas diaspora and bring their knowledge, expertise and skills on a common platform, the PBD Convention - the flagship event of the Ministry of External Affairs is organized in January.
Eighteen PBDs have been held in various places of India so far as follows:
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas | Year | Dates | Venue |
|---|
| 2003 | 9-11 January, 2003 | New Delhi |
| 2004 | 9-11 January, 2004 | New Delhi |
| 2005 | 7-9 January, 2005 | Mumbai |
| 2006 | 7-9 January, 2006 | Hyderabad |
| 2007 | 7-9 January, 2007 | New Delhi |
| 2008 | 7-9 January, 2008 | New Delhi |
| 2009 | 7-9 January, 2009 | Chennai |
| 2010 | 7-9 January, 2010 | New Delhi |
| 2011 | 7-9 January, 2011 | New Delhi |
| 2012 | 7-9 January, 2012 | Jaipur |
| 2013 | 7-9 January, 2013 | Kochi |
| 2014 | 7-9 January, 2014 | New Delhi |
| 2015 | 7-9 January, 2015 | Gandhinagar |
| 2017 | 7-9 January, 2017 | Bengaluru |
| 2019 | 21-23 January, 2019 | Varanasi |
| 2021 | 9 January, 2021 | Virtual |
| 2023 | 8-10 January, 2023 | Indore |
| 2025 | 8-10 January, 2025 | Bhubaneswar |
The 18th PBD Convention was held from 8–10 January, 2025 in Bhubaneswar, Odisha as Partner State. The theme for the 18th PBD was "Diaspora’s Contribution to a Viksit Bharat”.
The 18th PBD Convention was inaugurated by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on January 09, 2025. H.E. Christine Carla Kangaloo, the President of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, was the Chief Guest of the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. She addressed the convention virtually.
Hon’ble Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi remotely flagged off the inaugural journey of the special tourist train for the Indian diaspora, Pravasi Bharatiya Express, which left Delhi on that day for travel to multiple destinations of touristic and religious importance in India for a period of three weeks. During his address, Hon’ble Prime Minister of India emphasized the need for creation of a database to identify the villages and cities in India from where Girmitiya community originated and the places where they have settled, establish a Girmitiya Study and Research Centre (GSRC) to serve as a dedicated research and documentation hub to preserve the history, culture, struggles, and contributions of the Girmitiya diaspora, partner with a University to initiate research on Girmitiya legacy and establish a University Chair for it, document lives of Girmitiya community through films and documentaries, organise regular World Girmitiya Conferences, partner with countries connected to the Girmitiya Community etc. Hon’ble Prime Minister also reiterated his "Chalo India” tourism campaign for the diaspora, encouraging each of them to visit India with five foreign friends. He emphasized the goal of making India a developed nation by 2047, a Viksit Bharat, and highlighted the importance of the GIFT City ecosystem in meeting the financial services and investment needs of the diaspora besides encouraging them to leverage their potential to strengthen India's journey towards development.
Hon’ble Rashtrapati ji, Smt. Droupadi Murmu presided over the Valedictory Session and conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2025 to select Indian diaspora members to recognize their achievements and honour their contributions to various fields, both in India and abroad.
The 18th PBD Convention had five thematic Plenary sessions that saw participation of diaspora experts. The Plenary sessions chaired at Ministerial level, discussed contributions and developments made by Indian diaspora in innovations, new technology, sustainable development with green environment, mobility of work force, entrepreneurship, propagating India’s cultural heritage, etc. and envisaged how diaspora can be an active partner for India for progressing in all these sectors. The other elements of the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas included a Youth segment, a State segment and a Joint Business Session which were organised on 8th January, 2025. Dr. Dev Pragad, CEO, Newsweek from the USA, was the Guest of Honour at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, which provided a platform for youth from all over India to interact and engage with the Diaspora Youth. The State of Odisha, in its segment, showcased its culture, tourism, trade and investment opportunities to the Diaspora participating in the PBD Convention.
Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (RPBD)
Ministry has been organizing Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conferences (RPBD) to reach out to a vast majority of our diaspora, who for various reasons, are unable to attend the main biennial event in India and benefit from its deliberations. This is in response to a strong and persistent demand for holding such events regionally. These have elicited enthusiastic support from the Indian diaspora and the local Governments and have been highly successful. So far, ten RPBDs have been held as per details below:
Regional Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (RPBD) | Sr. No. | City | Country | Date |
|---|
| 1 | New York | USA | 24 Sept. 2007 |
| 2. | Singapore | Singapore | 10-11 Oct. 2008 |
| 3. | The Hague | Netherlands | 19 Sept. 2009 |
| 4. | Durban | South Africa | 1-2 Oct. 2010 |
| 5. | Toronto | Canada | 8-10 June 2011 |
| 6. | Port Louis | Mauritius | 27-28 Oct. 2012 |
| 7. | Sydney | Australia | 10-12 Nov. 2013 |
| 8. | London | United Kingdom | 16-18 Oct. 2014 |
| 9. | Los Angeles | USA | 14-15 Nov. 2015 |
| 10. | Singapore | Singapore | 6-7 Jan. 2018 |
Chief Guests at PBD Conventions:
Chief Guests at PBD Conventions | Sr. No. | PBD Year | Name & Position | Country |
|---|
| 1 | 2003 | Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister | Mauritius |
| 2 | 2004 | Shri Bharrat Jagdeo, President | Guyana |
| 3 | 2005 | Shri J.R. Ajodhia, Vice President | Suriname |
| 4 | 2006 | Shri Ahmed Kathrada, Political Activist
and a Contemporay of Nelson Mandela | South Africa |
| 5 | 2007 | Prof. S. Jayakumar, Dy. Prime Minister | Singapore |
| 6 | 2008 | Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister | Mauritius |
| 7 | 2009 | Dr. Ramdien Sardjoe, Vice President | Suriname |
| 8 | 2010 | Dr. Khalid Hameed, Chairman, Alpha Hospital Group | UK |
| 9 | 2011 | Sir Anand Satyanand, Governor General | New Zealand |
| 10 | 2012 | H.E. Ms. Kamla Persad Bissessar | Trinidad and Tobago |
| 11 | 2013 | Mr. Rajkeswur Purryag, President | Mauritius |
| 12 | 2014 | Dato Sri G. Palanivel, Federal Minister for Natural Resources and Environment | Malaysia |
| 13 | 2015 | H.E. Mr. Donald Rabinderanauth Ramotar, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana | Guyana |
| 14 | 2017 | Dr. Antonio Costa, Prime Minister | Portugal |
| 15 | 2019 | Mr. Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister | Mauritius |
| 16 | 2021 | H.E. Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President | Suriname |
| 17 | 2023 | H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana | Guyana |
| 18 | 2025 | H.E. Christine Carla Kangaloo, President of the Trinidad and Tobago | Trinidad and Tobago |
Archives
The year wise list of Speakers of various PBD events is as follows:
The year wise list of Speakers of various PBD events| Sr. No. | Year | Download |
|---|
| 1 | 2025 |  (139 KB) |
| 2 | 2023 | (101 KB) |
| 3 | 2021 | (21 KB) |
| 4 | 2019 | (21 KB) |
| 5 | 2013 | (21 KB) |
| 6 | 2012 | (19 KB) |
| 7 | 2011 | (23 KB) |
| 8 | 2010 | (22 KB) |
| 9 | 2009 | (104 KB) |
| 10 | 2008 | (84 KB) |
| 11 | 2007 | (92 KB) |
| 12 | 2006 | (83 KB) |
| 13 | 2005 | (104 KB) |
| 14 | 2004 | (93 KB) |
| 15 | 2003 | (113 KB) |
The year wise list of PBD Theme Paper is as follows:
The year wise list of PBD Theme Paper | Sr. No. | Year | Download |
|---|
| 1 | 2025 | (283 KB) |
| 2 | 2023 | (250 KB) |
| 3 | 2021 | (1.53 MB) |
| 4 | 2019 | (1.53 MB) |
| 5 | 2013 | (1.53 MB) |
| 6 | 2012 | (242 KB) |
| 7 | 2011 | (1.76 MB) |
| 8 | 2010 | (1.55 MB) |
| 9 | 2009 | (1.02 MB) |
| 10 | 2008 | (906 KB) |