Absent from the list of participants for the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the largest ever gathering of global Indians being held between January 9-12, are businessmen like Laxmi Mittal, Swaraj Paul, the Hinduja brothers, Sabeer Bhatia, Pulitzer-winning writer Jhumpa Lahiri, astronaut Kalpana Chawla, writer Vikram Seth, Hollywood director Manoj Night Shyamalan, and filmmakers Mira Nair and Ismail Merchant.
These are some of the leading non-resident Indians (NRIs) who have not responded to the invitation for the three-day event.
The organisers, the ministry of external affairs and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci), however, say the absence will not make a difference because the response has been more than expected, with the registrations for the event crossing 2,500.
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Sources in the external affairs ministry said some of the heavyweights declined the invitation because they were expecting to be sponsored.