Article By Mahjabin Banu* and Iram Ahmed**
The 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas (PBD), will be held in Bhuvneshwar, India from 8th to10th January, 2025. This event will be organized in collaboration between the Odisha government and the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). One of the largest diasporas in the world is the Indian diaspora. They inhabit every continent in the world rather than being restricted to just one. The Indians exist in all three segments of Labour i.e.; skilled, semi-skilled, and un-skilled. The skilled migration from India is directed towards USA and UK majorly, for semi-skilled and unskilled segment they are at large in Gulf countries. Indians are not only limited to the access of labour market but in student migration also they are among top countries. Moreover, every 8 percent of the annual student migration plan to settle in the host countries. With the huge population of India i.e.; 1.45 billion, it is expected to impact the world economy at large in the coming decades. Bhuvneshwar has a remarkable cultural heritage of historical significance of various sites. The venue is chosen strategically as it has industrial potential and development initiatives too. Over 5000 Diasporas across the world are expected to grace the occasion to celebrate the connection of India to overseas community. These attendees will be enjoying the sight seeing of Odisha and glimpse of Industry and culture will be show cased. It is expected to have a multifaceted impact of development from socio-political to geo-cultural.
The significance of PBD lies in celebrating the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa in 1915. The event provides a valuable platform to engage diaspora in facilitating networking, mutually beneficial activities and fostering collaboration and growth on a Global scale. Apart from celebration there is a Samman Award too to felicitate remarkable Diaspora contribution to the world in diverse fields.
The Indian economy benefits from the emigrants’ remittances. The Indian diaspora is essential to the country’s economic growth. The significance of emigrants’ contributions to the nation’s foreign exchange reserve and investment has been acknowledged by the Indian government from time to time. Remittances constitute a vital resource for the balance of payments in many poor and developing nations, moreover transferring gained knowledge is also another ways that diasporas contribute to the growth of their home countries. The phenomenon of a country’s diaspora is comparable to a zero-sum game. Last year in 2023, India received US$ 125 billion in remittances, making it the highest recipient in the world. Because remittances enhance the availability of foreign cash, they stop the rupee from depreciating in value relative to other currencies. It facilitates the use of resources and the creation of capital in India. Remittances raise communal consumption, which in turn raises wellbeing.
The celebration of the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas started in 2003. Initially it was an annual event, the revision took place in the Governing Council meeting 2015 and it was suggested to keep it biannual event. The core idea is to engage overseas community with the motherland. last year PBD-2024 was celebrated on 09 January 2024, prior to that PBD 2023 was celebrated in Indore Madhya Pradesh, the chosen theme was “Diaspora: Reliable Partner’s for India’s Progress in Amrit kaal.”
This time the PBD forum should provide an important forum to declare benefits for Diaspora for there Philanthropic contributions to India. The government could introduce a number of win-win programs to encourage its diaspora to become more involved in India’s progress. India should also establish a rotation program in which leading NRI scientists, engineers, physicians, managers, and other professionals provide their knowledge to Indian public sector organisations for a limited time. As demonstrated by Dr. Rajan’s stay at the RBI, this type of lateral induction of senior employees may have a profound impact on both host and contributing people.
The Indian diaspora serves as a link between their country and India, allowing both to develop concurrently for the benefit of their respective populations. With the help of the diaspora, India might achieve its long-held goal of becoming a superpower and advance significantly in its foreign and international affairs. Unlocking the diaspora’s potential is much more crucial since they may supply the necessary strategic drive.
Even while the diaspora now plays a big role, there is still a lot of room for growth because many of the respondents are eager to serve their country. This is further supported by yearly data on FDI and remittances released by government agencies.
India received an estimated $62.7 billion in remittances in 2016, making it the highest recipient, according to a UN report. The answers are noted in relation to a few criteria.
References:
India’s Inward Remittances Survey 2016-17, RBI.
https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/invest/india-tops-remittance-flows-at-usd-125-bn-in-2023-world-bank/articleshow/106132808.cms [1]
Authoress Mahjabin Banu is currently working at Inderprastha Engineering College as HOD, MBA Department. She is carrying rare combination of job experience from Corporate, Government and Academics. She was also associated with Centre for Vietnam Studies, New Delhi as a Visiting Fellow and has also worked at the India Centre for Migration (ICM) under the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs, now a part of MEA. Prior to that she also held teaching position as Assistant Professor and has also worked in corporate in the field of Human Resources. She holds Ph.D. in the area of International Migration andposses post graduate qualification in Business Management and a Master’s degree in Labour Management.
She has qualified UGC NET in Management. Her research and consulting interest include international migration, ILO conventions and skill development. Dr. Banu has also presented papers internationally and in India in international conferences. Published papers in refereed Journal, chapter in edited books and articles in magazines related to migration and other contemporary issues. She has been quoted a few times by BBC News in Hindi regarding her opinion on boycott China issues and issues of labour migration during Covid time.
Authoress Iram Ahmed Iram Ahmed is currently an Assistant Professor at Inderprastha Engineering College, Ghaziabad
Disclaimer : The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her / his own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC NEWS
