annual report1-final.qxd - Overseas Indian

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
THE Prime Minister
saluted the overseas
Indians for their
work and
professional ethos
that have made
India proud
persons of Indian origin who had stood up against
oppression in foreign lands, one no longer in our
midst and another who was fortunately with us
and a source of inspiration. He was referring to
Mahatma Gandhi and Ahmed Kathrada.
The Prime Minister touched upon the uniqueness
of Hyderabad and its strategic location in the
Indian developmental context. He spoke of the
composite culture of Hyderabad and its traditional
ethos and yet being in the forefront of all that was
modern including globalisation. He also spoke of
the greatness and grandeur of ancient Andhra and
dealt in particular with its maritime trade. He
observed how India (particularly Andhra Pradesh)
was not only noted for trade and commerce but
also for movement of labour overseas. The phenomenon
of Indians going abroad was not of recent
origin but was rooted in history. Consequently,
today there is a global community of Indians, he
said.
The Prime Minister saluted the overseas Indian
workers and professionals for their contributions
to their motherland not only in terms of remittances,
but also for their commitment to work and
professional ethos that have made India proud. He
announced several welfare measures for overseas
Indians, including an improved insurance scheme,
Pravasi Bharatiya Bima Yojana (PBBY) 2006, for
overseas Indian workers commencing from
February 2006. Also on the anvil is a Diaspora
Knowledge Network. The issue of granting voting
rights to NRIs was at an advanced stage of consideration
of the Government, he said.
Dr. Singh also invited global students to come
and study in India. He described India as the “most
happening place in the world”. He had a word of
praise for all global Indians particularly those in
Mauritius, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan for the
inestimable role they were playing in these societies.
He said that the conference should work
towards arriving at a policy framework for developing
partnerships in education and devise strategies
for institutional intervention. He appreciated
the collaborations of Birla Institute of S&T and
Manipal Academy of Higher Education with other
educational institutions around the world.
Dr. Singh exhorted the Chief Ministers to make
their respective States more competitive, stating
that such competition was good for development.
He anticipated more partnerships of States with
overseas Indians and institutions.
VOTE OF THANKS
Saroj K. Poddar, President of FICCI, proposed the
vote of thanks. He invited PIOs to join the growing
Indian economy. He said that by 2025, about 68 per
cent of the Indian population would join the work
force by which time many in China would be retiring
from active labour force. Poddar thanked the
Governments of India and Andhra Pradesh for
organising the conference. !
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