Former Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani and Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal, honouring Dr. Mohan Thomas during a ceremony held at the ICC yesterday, while former Minister of M
Doha: Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr. Deepak Mittal has handed over Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA 2021), the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians, to Dr. Mohan Thomas, a prominent Indian resident in Qatar.
The felicitation ceremony was held at Indian Cultural Centre (ICC) yesterday.
The ceremony was attended by former Prime Minister and Minister of Interior H E Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani; former Minister of Municipality and Environment H E Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi; Adviser Amiri Diwan, H E Sheikh Abdulla Bin Ali Al Thani; Director of Public Health H E Sheikh Mohammed Hamad J. Al Thani; leaders of Indian expatriate community, prominent Indian businessmen and educationists.
Dr. Mohan Thomas, a well-known ENT specialist and resident of Qatar for the last 38 years, has been conferred the award for the year 2021 for his contribution in the field of medicine.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred by the President of India on non-resident Indians who have made significant contributions towards better understanding of India abroad, philanthropic and charitable work, eminence in one’s field of work, welfare of local Indian community, among others.
The 16th edition of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention was held virtually on January 9, 2021.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards were conferred by the President of India at the PBD Convention in the valedictory session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrations.
Addressing the event, H E Mohammed bin Abdullah Al Rumaihi said: “We consider Dr Mohan Thomas as one of us. He served the community with high capability with high quality of medical treatment.” Al Rumaihi said that Dr Thomas is well-known for his friendship with the Qatari people.”
Former deputy Prime Minister H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah in a video message congratulated Dr Mohan Thomas on receiving the prestigious award.
“I would like to congratulate Dr Thomas for receiving the highest award from President of India,” said Al Attiya.
He lauded Dr Thomas for his dedicated services in the medical sector for the community.
Ambassador of India to Qatar, H E Dr Deepak Mittal said: “This is a great honour for me to hand over Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to Dr Mohan Thomas on behalf of the President of India.”
He said that the award which has been given to Dr Thomas is in recognition of his distinguished services over many decades in medicine and community service.
“This is well recognition of what he has done for furthering the interest of the community in Qatar and strengthening the bond of friendship between India and Qatar,” said Dr. Mittal.
He said that Dr Mohan Thomas is the sixth recipient of Pravasi Bharatiya Samman from Qatar.
Dr Mittal lauded Qatari leadership and people for extending their full support to the Indian people in fighting against COVID-19 pandemic.
ICC President P N Babu Rajan said that Dr Mohan Thomas is one of the most prominent names in community services.
In his acceptance speech, Dr Thomas thanked the Indian community, friends of India in Qatar for their immense support. He pledged to continue working towards strengthing the ties between India and Qatar through his work.
