e-Paper
India's cleanest city Indore will host the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) from Jan 8 to 10 next year.
It is a time when people of Indian origin living across the globe will congregate in the Madhya Pradesh city to celebrate their achievements and contribution towards the development of India.
PBD, organised every other year by India's Ministry of External Affairs, also commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on Jan 9, 1915.
"Next year's PBD is special because we are doing it after skipping one due to Covid-19," India's High Commissioner to Singapore Periasamy Kumaran told tabla!.
"So, in some ways it is reconnecting with the diaspora after a gap of almost four years. It is exciting for us and a way of showing that our links with the diaspora are not getting rusty, that we have come back with the same kind of enthusiasm that we had before Covid-19."
The last PBD was held from Jan 21 to 23, 2019, in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.
Delegates from Singapore can look forward to participating in several forums at next year's PBD, whose theme is Diaspora: Reliable Partners For India's Progress In Amrit Kaal.
"Indians in Singapore are among the most talented, dynamic and successful diasporas anywhere in the world," said Mr Kumaran.
"We will have a lot of interesting panels to discuss matters like digitisation, innovation and new technologies, sustainability, environment and harnessing the potential of women entrepreneurs."
On the sidelines of the PBD, the Madhya Pradesh government will also host a Global Investor Summit from Jan 11 to 12.
"There are all kinds of difficulties because of geopolitical disturbances and Covid-related problems," said Mr Kumaran. "But India is one of the few countries that is showing promising growth. It offers very interesting investment opportunity for many.
"If you take green energy, Singapore's Keppel Infrastructure recently signed a memorandum of understanding with India's Greenko to explore green hydrogen opportunities in India.
"Similarly, India and Singapore have finished the technical steps necessary to connect their fast payment systems PayNow and UPI. This will soon allow fund transfers between the two countries to be instant and inexpensive.
"There are opportunities in several new areas of investment like semiconductors, pharmaceuticals and vaccines. These areas are all extremely promising.
"Singaporean investors should go to India and understand these opportunities themselves, and try and interpret them to their colleagues and partners in Singapore so that the opportunities are better understood here and leveraged."
Indore is also a historical city known for its palaces, beautiful landscapes and food.
"It will be exciting for delegates from Singapore to attend the PBD. The commercial capital of Madhya Pradesh is a happy mix of history and rapid modernisation," said Mr Kumaran.
V.K. Santosh Kumar
For more information on next year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, go to pbdindia.gov.in
