The Ambassador of India Ahmed Javed recently held a briefing with members of the Indian community at the Embassy Auditorium with regard the upcoming 14th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention to be held from Jan. 7-9, 2017, at Bangalore International Exhibition Centre (BIEC) Karnataka. The briefing was attended by around 150 members of the community, belonging to various parts of India. The Ambassador briefed the community about the importance of the 14th PBD and appealed the community to attend it. A Power Point Presentation was also shown on the occasion. He also briefed the community about the various social welfare measures taken by the government for the benefit of Indians living abroad, particularly in the Gulf countries. He stressed the PBD 2017 will focus on the theme "Redefining the engagement with the Indian Diaspora", to strengthen Diaspora engagement and provide a platform for networking with the Diaspora, to recognize the Diaspora's contribution to India and know their expectations and concerns. To deepen engagement with young Diasporas, to help them know more about their roots. The PBD Convention features plenary sessions; an exhibition; cultural programs and provides an opportunity to interact with other overseas Indians, policy makers, political leadership and others. The highlight of the PBD convention is the inaugural address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The last day of PBD features the valedictory address by the President of India, who will also confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards on Overseas Indians for their achievements and contribution both in India and abroad. The youth PBD is a new feature, which has been introduced recently. It is a special daylong program, which provides a platform to connect with Young Overseas Indians and discuss subjects of relevance to them. There will also be a PBD Exhibition from Jan. 7-9 on following five themes: Flagship programs of government of India (Digital India, Start-up India, Skill India, Swachh Bharat etc.); Schemes and Programs for NRIs & PIOs; Opportunities in states: Investment potential business opportunities, Tourism etc.; Indian handicraft & culture mela (sale & demo) and Corporate sector, PSUs etc. Meanwhile, the mission also revealed that some of the Saudi Oger workers had left for home from Riyadh on Oct. 14-15. The total number of workers who flew back home was175. The largest number of workers are from Bihar (41), Rajasthan (30), UP (20) and also people who left for Cochin-8, Bangalore-6, Mumbai-17, Chennai-5, Kolkata-14 and Hyderabad 6. — SG
