Indian diaspora’s role to grow as India moves towards Viksit Bharat by 2047: Jaishankar

The Indian diaspora’s role will become increasingly important as India moves towards achieving its goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047, and its expertise and technological capabilities will contribute to the country’s growth and development, external affairs minister S Jaishankar said on Wednesday.

Jaishankar says India’s progress and expanding opportunities will create new avenues for collaboration with the 37-million-strong Indian diaspora. (@DrSJaishankar)Speaking at the launch of the website for the 19th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention, to be held in Kolkata from January 7 to 9 next year, Jaishankar said the expanding opportunities and new avenues created by India’s development would help foster greater collaboration with the diaspora.

The PBD Convention is the government’s flagship event that provides a key platform for engaging with the 37-million-strong diaspora across the world. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, held annually on January 9, commemorates Mahatma Gandhi’s return to India from South Africa on January 9, 1915.

The theme of the upcoming Convention — “Return to Roots: Reigniting the diaspora connect with Bharat” — aims to create opportunities for the next generation of overseas Indians to deepen their engagement with contemporary India.

“As India moves forward towards the vision which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has laid out of Viksit Bharat by 2047, the role of our diaspora will be increasingly important,” Jaishankar said. “Their knowledge, expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and technology capabilities, and also their global networks, will all contribute to India’s growth and to India’s development equally.” India’s progress, along with the expanding opportunities and new avenues it offers, will help the diaspora collaborate, reconnect and contribute more, he said.

Jaishankar highlighted Kolkata’s special role in the history of the Indian diaspora, saying that many Indians set sail from the city for Mauritius, Fiji and the Caribbean. “Their journeys, which were marked by sacrifice and hardship, actually laid the foundations of a global Indian presence,” he said.

Sripriya Ranganathan, secretary (overseas Indian affairs) in the external affairs ministry, said the upcoming Convention would focus on youth engagement, business opportunities, women’s entrepreneurship, and reconnecting with India’s culture and knowledge traditions.

Kolkata’s role as an important port of embarkation for thousands of indentured labourers sent to different countries would be commemorated with a dedicated conference and an exhibition, she said. The three-day event will begin with the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the Convention, and President Droupadi Murmu will preside over the valedictory session and confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards, which recognise the contributions of members of the Indian diaspora and their role in strengthening India’s engagement with the global community.