Singapore To Host RPBD In 2018

The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is a celebration to connect the Indian Diasporas back to their roots as well as celebrate their contributions and achievements. The 2017 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas edition was held in Bengaluru and was well attended by Non-Resident Indians as well as Persons of Indian Origin.

There is a regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas scheduled to hold early next year in Singapore. The event will mark 25 years of successful partnership between Singapore and India as well as present an opportunity for both nations forge stronger ties.

The date for the event is between 6 and 7th of January 2018. The venue of the event would be the Marina Bay Sands Conventions Center. The event will come ahead of the India-ASEAN Summit which will be held in New Delhi by month end of the same month. Speaking on the choice of Singapore, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, Jawed Ashraf, said,

“The choice of Singapore was obvious. It is at the heart of ASEAN. It has been in some sense our gateway to the East, has an extraordinary, vibrant Indian diaspora. So, it reflects both Singapore’s centrality of our engagement with ASEAN and the emergence of very talented community of Indians here. The event will highlight the ancient bonds between India and ASEAN and how the diaspora will be part of a new journey in the 21^st century.”

Source: Little India

As of now, the ASEAN-India Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) is the most eagerly anticipated program for 2018. Preparations are ongoing to make the event a success including ample competitions for children and youth to showcase their talent and stand a chance of walking away with amazing prices. Some of the winners will get a sponsored trip to India.

Most of the contests are focused on sensitizing the youths about the rich and diversity of India’s culture. There is going to be an essay writing contest on the theme revolving around Indo-ASEAN relations. Singaporean youths will also have a chance to showcase their classical dance expertise.

Besides announcing the host and venue of the regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the Indian High Commissioner to Singapore also mentioned that the registration for the event would commence within a week of the announcement.

In the exclusive interview to Connected India, Ashraf also mentioned of the effort by Mrs. Sushma Swaraj, the Minister of External Affairs for India has been making to establish a direct link between Indians living abroad and gave a teaser of expectations ahead of the coming regional PBD.

Ashraf also gave a hint on the positive attitude of the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, in connecting with Indians in Diaspora. The focus of the upcoming event would be to encourage the youths as well as place them at the forefront of the nation’s economic, innovative, start-ups, and technology drive.

A lot of Indians in the diaspora have already declared their interest to participate in the epoch-making event. One of such people is a business Management student at the Singapore Institute of Management (SIM), Aman Kumar Choudhary,

“It’ll be focused on the centrality of Singapore and talents of the Indian diaspora in ASEAN as well as Singapore. As an Indian studying in Singapore, this is a great opportunity for us.”

Source: Connected India

Business analysts are already making projections about how the event would be of immense benefit to both nations. The students at SIM University engaged in an intensive discussion, highlighting the impact of the event on Indo-ASEAN relations.

Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is an initiative of the ministry of External Affairs to have the event staged beyond the shores of India periodically as a way of connecting Indians in diaspora in specific regions as well as familiarize them with the government programmes and policies to enable them to contribute to the growth and development of the country as well as address some of their burning concerns.

Youths that want to participate in the upcoming Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas are invited to upload videos of their entries which can either be solo Indian classical instrument or classical vocal recital before the deadline, December 10, 2017.