Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Tuesday in Varanasi and hold talks with his Mauritian counterpart, Pravind Jugnauth, after the inaugural session.
External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj inaugurated the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on Monday, along with Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, and said the Indian diaspora has dramatically changed the world's perception of Indians and India.
Mauritian Premier Jugnauth arrived in Varanasi on Monday and was received by Minister of State for External Affairs V.K. Singh. Later, Swaraj called on the Mauritian prime minister and exchanged views on a range of issues, including strengthening bilateral cooperation.
For the first time, the three-day-long Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade.
The theme of this year's Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is Role of Indian diaspora in building new India, a statement from the prime minister's office said.
Varanasi in Modi's parliamentary constituency. Jugnauth will be the chief guest of the convention, while Himanshu Gulati, member of Parliament of Norway, will be the special guest. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, member of Parliament of New Zealand, will be the guest of honour.
President Ram Nath Kovind will address the concluding function of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 23.
Over 4,000 NRI delegates from about 85 countries are attending Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and many of them will be staying in the tent city, built specially for them.
After Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the guests will be taken for a visit to the Kumbh Mela on January 24 where also a tent city has been set up.
A cultural village has been developed in Prayagraj, showing history from the Indus Valley Civilisation. The 'pravasis' will be taken to New Delhi on the night of January 24 and will have a 'Delhi Darshan' the next day. They will also witness the Republic Day Parade on January 26.
Uttar Pradesh is the partner state for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and a novel feature this year is the concept of 'Varanasi hospitality' under which local people are hosting the Indians living abroad at their homes as 'family guests'.
The first plenary session on Engagement with younger members of Indian Diaspora, co-chaired by Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports Rajyavardhan Rathore and V.K. Singh, was held on Monday.
Uttar Pradesh Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas was also held on Monday where renowned NRIs with family roots in the state took part.
The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was taken by the late prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the first event was celebrated on January 9, 2003 in Varanasi.
January 9 was chosen as the day to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Divas as it was on this day in 1915 that Mahatma Gandhi had returned to India from South Africa.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is now celebrated once in every two years and provides a platform to the overseas Indian community to engage with the government and reconnect with their roots.