The 14th edition of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas (PBD) Convention 2017 kick started at Jacaranda Hall, BIEC, in Bengaluru, Karnataka on January 7 and would conclude on January 9, 2017.
The theme of the three day PBD 2017 was Redefining Engagement with the Indian Diaspora.
Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
i.The PBD began on January 7 with the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. The theme of Youth PBD was ‘Role of Diaspora Youth in the Transformation of India’.
ii.The event was chaired by Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports Vijay Goel and co-chaired by Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr V.K. Singh.
iii.Vice President of Suriname Michael Ashwin Adhin was the Special Guest at the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) who addressed the young overseas Indian delegates at the inaugural session along with Minister of External Affairs Smt Sushma Swaraj, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah among others.
iv.The inaugural day had three plenary sessions followed by various Cultural Programme a Buffet Dinner.
Plenary Session I: Nurturing India’s Young Ambassadors: Reaching out to Indian Students Abroad and NRI & OCI Students in India.
Plenary Session II: Start-ups and Innovations which had social impact in India
Plenary Session III: Fuelling growth through disruptive Innovations: Start-up ecosystem in Karnataka.
14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention    Â
The main event of the PBD event started on January 8, 2017.
Inaugurated by: Prime Minster Narendra Modi
Chief Guest of the Convention: Prime Minister of Portugal, Dr Antonio Costa
i.Addressing over 7,000-strong Indian Diaspora from various nations at the 14th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, PM Modi launched a Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY) and also announced that he was taking steps to convert brain drain into brain gain.
ii.Portuguese Prime Minister Antonio Costa stressed the role of the India’s contribution in Portugal and informed his desire to attract Foreign Direct Investment for Portugal’s geographic advantage.
Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana (PKVY)
i.Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana PKVY aims to train and certify the Indians youths who are interested in overseas employment to enable them fit with the international standards and boost their confidence.
ii.The government would provide the skill development training irrespective of the vocation seleted by the youth.
iii.It will be implemented by the National Skill Development Corporation through its training partners and in consultation with the Ministry of External Affairs and the Skill Development Ministry.
Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) cards
i.PM Modi emphasized the contributions made by the Non-residential Indians and Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) in the development of India and addressed the OCIs facing difficulty in getting the OCIs cards.
ii.The Government has set up special counters at immigration points to help in making OCI cards among which first such counters are been set up in Delhi and Bengaluru from January 1, 2017. PM encouraged all PIO Card holders to convert their PIO Cards to OCI (Overseas citizen of India) Cards.
iii.The deadline for PIO card conversions to OCI has also been extended from December 31, 2016, to June 30, 2017, without any penalty.
President Concludes the PBD Convention with Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
i.The President of India, Shri Pranab Mukherjee concluded the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention on January 9, 2017 with a farewell speech and also conferred the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards.
ii.The recipients of the awards were selected by 11-membered Jury cum Award Committee chaired by Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari and co-chaired by External Affairs Minister, Smt Sushma Swaraj. The jury selected 30 nominees from a list of 178 nominations.
List of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman-2017 Awardees
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| S.NO. | Name | Country | Field |
| 1 | Dr. Gorur Krishna Harinath | Australia | Community Service |
| 2 . | Mr. Rajasekharan Pillai Valavoor Kizhakkathil | Bahrain | Business |
| 3 . | Antwerp Indian Association | Belgium | Community Service |
| 4 . | Mr. Nazeer Ahamed Mohamed Zackiriah | Brunei | Community Service |
| 5. | Mr. Mukund Bhikhubhai Purohit | Canada | Business |
| 6. | Mr. Nalinkumar Sumanlal Kothari | Djibouti | Community Service |
| 7. | Mr. Vinod Chandra Patel | Fiji | Social Service |
| 8. | Mr. Raghunath Marie Antonin Manet | France | Arts & Culture |
| 9. | Dr. Lael Anson E. Best | Israel | Medical Science |
| 10. | Dr. Sandip Kumar Tagore | Japan | Arts & Culture |
| 11. | Mr. Ariful Islam | Libya | Community Service |
| 12 . | Tan Sri Dato Dr. Muniandy Thambirajah | Malaysia | Education and Community Service |
| 13 . | Hon’ble Mr. Pravind Kumar Jugnauth | Mauritius | Public Service |
| 14 . | H.E. Mr. Antonio Luis Santos da Costa | Portugal | Public Service |
| 15 . | Dr. Raghavan Seetharaman | Qatar | Business Management |
| 16 . | Ms. Zeenat Musarrat Jafri | Saudi Arabia | Education |
| 17. | Singapore Indian Association | Singapore | Community Service |
| 18. | Dr. Carani Balaraman Sanjeevi | Sweden | Medicine |
| 19 . | Mr. Susheel Kumar Saraff | Thailand | Business |
| 20. | Mr. Winston Chandarbhan Dookeran | Trinidad & Tobago | Public Service |
| 21. | Mr. Vasudev Shamdas Shroff | United Arab Emirates | Community Service |
| 22 . | India Social and Cultural Centre, Abu Dhabi | United Arab Emirates | Philanthropy and Community Service |
| 23 . | Rt. Hon’ble Ms. Priti Patel | United Kingdom | Public Service |
| 24 . | Ms. Neena Gill | United Kingdom | Public Service |
| 25 . | Mr. Hari Babu Bindal | USA | Environmental Engineering |
| 26 . | Dr. Bharat Haridas Barai | USA | Community Service |
| 27 . | Ms. Nisha Desai Biswal | USA | Public Affairs |
| 28 . | Dr. Mahesh Mehta | USA | Community Service |
| 29 . | Mr. Ramesh Shah | USA | Community Service |
| 30. | Dr. Sampatkumar Shidramapa Shivangi | USA | Community Leadership |
Pravasi Bharatiya Samman
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on Non-Resident Indian, Person of Indian Origin or an organization or institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin, who has made significant contribution in recognizing India abroad.
About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD)
i.Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) was launched by the Vajpayee Government in 2003 which is celebrated since then every year on 9 January to mark the contribution of overseas Indian community in the development of India.
ii.It is celebrated on January 9 because it was on this day in 1915 that the greatest Pravasi, Mahatma Gandhi, returned to India from South Africa, and led India’s freedom struggle and changed the lives of Indians forever.
iii.The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention provides a platform for interaction of the central and state governments with the Overseas Indian Community for mutually beneficial activities and a forum for discussing key issues concerning the Indian Diaspora.
