Dubai - Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the Kumbh Mela and the Republic Day celebrations.
Published: Sat 19 Jan 2019, 9:24 PM
A large number of Indians in the UAE are set to take part in the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) to be held in Varanasi from January 21-23.
Participants will also have the opportunity to visit the Kumbh Mela at Prayagraj in Allahabad and the Republic Day celebrations in New Delhi.
Over 350 NRIs from the UAE will be attending the event that will be held under the theme of 'Role of Indian diaspora in building a new India', said Vipul, Consul-General of India in Dubai, during a media briefing held at the Indian consulate in Bur Dubai on Thursday.
The Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in partnership with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, Government of Uttar Pradesh, he added. "On January 21, the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in partnership with the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, where discussions will be held on the role of youth diaspora in the development of India. On January 22, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention will be inaugurated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
On January 23, the valedictory address will be delivered and Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards will be conferred by the Indian President Ram Nath Kovind.
"All three days will feature a number of cultural programmes and will see recommendations based on panel discussions aimed at how help can be given to distressed Indians abroad and how can Indian diaspora help, especially in areas such as renewable energy, cybersecurity etc," he added.
Talking about the special arrangements being made for NRIs, Vipul said: "On January 24, special buses will take the participants from Varanasi to Prayagraj for the Kumbh Mela and the same night special trains will take them to New Delhi. We have been working on getting people mobilised, encouraging them to attend the PBD, and I am happy that our community organisations and associations have worked hard. One of our officers will also be going with the group for additional coordination.
"Air India has given 50 per cent discount to big groups of 100 that registered online," he added.
When asked about the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awardees from the UAE, CG Vipul said:
"The list of awardees is not yet out but going by the last two PBD, usually two people are awarded.
The awards were given to Vasu Shroff and Indian Social Centre Abu Dhabi last year; the year before the awards were bagged by Bharatbhai Shah and Ashraf."
Asked if there was anything unique about this year's edition of the PBD, CG Vipul said:
"The time is longer with a visit to the Kumbh Mela and the Republic Day parade. Many NRIs wish to attend such events but it has always been difficult to coordinate but this time the government is taking the opportunity."
Talking about the lodging arrangements of the NRIs, Vipul added that a 'Tent City' has been set up in Varanasi and in Prayagraj where most of the NRIs will be accommodated.
Social worker, Girish Pant who will be representing the Indian community organisation working for Indian nationals in distress situation at the PBD 2019, said: "We will be present during all the days at the event to respond to any queries people would have regarding Indian nationals in distress abroad. Our efforts have been to mobilise maximum number of NRIs from the UAE to attend PBD 2019. We want to top the list of number NRIs attending the PBD 2019 from the UAE."
saman@khaleejtimes.com
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