A view of 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019 convention.
One hundred and fifty Indians from Qatar attended the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2019 convention held in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India from January 21 to 23.
The delegates joined other delegates from all over the world for the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj on January 24 and witnessed the Republic Day parade at New Delhi on January 26. The entire program was hosted by the Ministry of External Affairs of India and Government of Uttar Pradesh.
The Qatar delegation was led by Rajesh Kamble, Counselor at the Embassy of India in Qatar while Seenu Pillai, K M Varghese & Kala Gopalakrishnan coordinated the other arrangements for the team during the event.
The main theme of the PBD convention 2019 was: ‘Role of Indian Diaspora in Building New India’.The venue of PBD 2019 convention was Deendayal Hastkala Sankul, Trade Facilitation Centre and Craft Museum at Lalpur in Varanasi.
The event was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi on January 22 and attended by thousands of Pravasi’s from all over the world.
The delegates also attended various interesting plenary sessions like developing cyber capacity of India, giving back to India – ppportunities and challenges, role of Indian diaspora in capacity of building for affordable waste management and solar power AND engagement with younger members of Indian diaspora.
The Pravasi’s were also enthralled with cultural programme showcasing dance and music of Uttar Pradesh on day one and a cultural program hosted by Indian council for cultural relations.
On January 23, during the valedictory session the President of India, Ram Nath Kovind conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award to Cdr Purnendu Tiwari (Indian Navy, retired) from Qatar and 27 other eminent personalities and two organisations of the Indian diaspora for their contributions and achievements in various fields.
The award to Cdr Purnendu Tiwari is in recognition of his contribution towards capacity building for the Qatar Amiri Naval Forces, thereby promoting India-Qatar bilateral cooperation. He is the first Indian Armed Forces personnel to be awarded this highest honour meant for NRIs / PIOs.
