| Against the backdrop of frantic changes, this year’s convention assumes significance of unexpected magnitude |
COLOURFUL EVENT: The Chennai Trade Centre, the venue of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas-2009, is all decked up.
CHENNAI: In between two editions of an annual global event during which India and its diaspora analyse their progress and discuss the future, none could have predicted such momentous changes.
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Set against the backdrop of frantic changes, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention 2009 (January 7-9), the premier NRI networking event, assumes a significance of unexpected magnitude.
Over a year that eventually saw the lows upstage the highs, 2008 bowed out against the backdrop of serious challenges to the country’s secular, multicultural ethos in the aftermath of the Mumbai terror attacks, even as the global economic crisis continues to sap what was until recently a sprinting economy.
Yet, a cynical worldview will be the least plausible outcome when some of India’s leading lights from across the spheres of politics and governance and the intelligentsia apply their minds to evolving solutions to contemporary issues. In fact, at a pre-event press conference, Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi acknowledged the opinion-making influence of NRIs across the world, more so in the U.S. and parts of Europe, and how the Centre wished to increasingly leverage this factor.
The Ministry, he said, was keen on engaging the politico-economic influence of the Indian diaspora in key nations to press its case on a whole lot of national and international issues.
Chennai, which is hosting the programme for the first time, will witness Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opening the event on Thursday. And, by the time President Pratibha Patil addresses the valedictory session after conferring the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards for 2009 on January 9, an estimated 1,500 delegates would have contributed to charting the course for India to realise its 2020 vision. The broad theme of the seventh convention is ‘Engaging the Diaspora: The Way Forward.’
Organisers say the event creates opportunities for exploring mutually beneficial trade and business relationships and networking among the community. It also symbolises the continued interest of the Indian government in the progress and well-being of overseas Indians.
Event managers feel that the key to boost the confidence of the diaspora is the formation of a separate Ministry for the welfare of an estimated 25 million overseas Indians, including those who still hold Indian passports (NRIs) and those who don’t (People of Indian Origin).
Among the positive outcomes of the previous editions of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas are the decisions to establish Overseas Citizenship of India, the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre, a PIO University, which is set launch courses this year, and the establishment of the Prime Minister’s Global Advisory Council of People of Indian Origin.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2009 will feature sessions on the preservation of diaspora language and culture and the importance of diaspora as facilitators and bridge-builders.
The first plenary focusses on ‘India as an Emerging Power: The Diaspora Factor’ against the backdrop of the contributions made by 25 million NRIs to the scaling up of educational achievements and income levels, and their role in determining the future course of their motherland.
For non-residents torn between respect for their new country and love for their homeland, a session will help to strike a balance, the key being more linkages between the two. In fact, the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2008 identified the ways in which the diaspora could join India’s development process.
The key participants are External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee; Dato’ Seri S. Samy Vellu, president, Malaysian Indian Congress, Malaysia; Shashi Tharoor, chairman, Afras Ventures, U.S.; Sam G. Pitroda, chairman, C-Sam, U.S.; Sugata Bose, Gardiner Professor of Oceanic History and Affairs, Harvard; and Ruby Dhalla, MP, Canada.
Plenary II, which deals with the current ‘Economic Crisis-Diaspora Concerns,’ will think aloud whether stimulus packages will do the trick.
A note circulated by the organisers says: “…even though governments are scrambling to put together bailout and stimulus packages, developing economies have lost growth momentum. In India, the GDP growth projections have been revised downward from 9 per cent to less than 8 per cent, and export-based sectors such as information technology, textiles and automotives are under pressure.” This in turn has deprived overseas Indians of job opportunities. Can India provide them with an alternative economic opportunity, and what are the prospects for their remittances and savings?
The session will seek to find out whether India is relatively well placed to ride out this storm and provide the impetus that the global economy needs for growth and whether this challenge can be transformed into an opportunity to invest in India for better returns.
The key participants include Union Minister for Commerce and Industry Kamal Nath; T.K.A. Nair, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister; C.K. Prahalad, Professor, University of Michigan Business School; and K.V. Kamath, president, CII, and Managing Director and CEO, ICICI Bank.
Concurrent sessions will also be held on ‘Building Bridges: Trade & Investment,’ ‘Building Bridges: Diaspora Philanthropy,’ ‘Education & Diaspora Knowledge Network,’ ‘Media & Entertainment,’ ‘Increased Interaction with Diaspora Women’ and ‘Health for All: Role of Diaspora.’
The plenary on ‘Diaspora interaction with the States’ will examine the areas that could still be in government domain, the levels of diaspora engagement on this front and how best to develop and leverage the diaspora-State engagement.
Sharing stage with the chief guest, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, will be the guest of honour Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi; Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission; Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh; and Narendra Modi, Chief Minister of Gujarat.
An exhibition on trade and industry, live demonstrations by craftsmen, cultural evenings and sightseeing tours are part of the package.
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