Swaraj calls youth diaspora to contribute to India's growth story

Says this is the first time as PBD is celebrating the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. With Gujarat hosting PBD, its glory has doubled

Union Minister for External Affairs and Overseas Indian Affairs Sushma Swaraj on Wednesday called upon the youth diaspora to 'connect, celebrate and contribute' to the transformational change being witnessed in India, in the making of 'Ek Bharat, Shreshth Bharat'.

Inaugurating the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) at Mahatma Mandir here, Swaraj said, they would become ambassadors of a 'new' India, as "you have retained a bit of India in your heart and each one of you have a bit of 'Bharat' in you."

Reminiscing the journey of the two back-to-back events, PBD and Vibrant Gujarat Summit, the minister said, "Both began in the same year, 2003, when then prime minister A B Vajpayee announced the hosting of the PBD, and the Gujarat government under Narendra Modi announced hosting of the Vibrant Gujarat Summit."

She said in these 12 years, the two events had never come together. "This is the first time as PBD is celebrating the centenary year of Mahatma Gandhi's return to India from South Africa. With Gujarat hosting PBD, its glory has doubled," Swaraj said, adding for the past few years, Narendra Modi had been asking the Centre to host the PBD in Gujarat in 2015.

Praising the state government for doing so in such a grand manner, Swaraj said, "One of the domes is entirely designed to showcase 'Brand Gandhi'. I urge every participant of PBD to also visit the Vibrant Gujarat Summit."

The minister also felt the Youth PBD was not only about interacting with young people but had also emerged as an important platform for the diaspora to discover and nurture their roots. She appealed to the youth to connect with the young generation of Indians; over 50 per cent of Indian people were under 25 years.

"What excites the world today is India's growth story," Swaraj said, pointing to the government's success in bringing about a transformation of the business sentiment. This, she said, was the outcome of numerous steps taken to improve the ease of doing business.

Swaraj said the diaspora could contribute significantly to the development of India through programmes such as 'Make in India', 'Digital India', creation of smart cities and other physical infrastructure.

Gujarat Chief Minister Anadiben Patel said the two events would showcase the strength and development of Gujarat, and of India. "The Vibrant Gujarat Summit and the Global Trade Show is making all efforts to fulfil Prime Minister Modi's Make in India dream. We don't want this trade show to remain only a business-to-business meeting. Rather it should ignite new vision, new tradition among youth."

Sarbananda Sonowal, minister of state (independent charge) for youth affairs and sports, said youth organisations abroad could connect and coordinate with India's National Service Scheme to make a mark in India's education and social sector spaces.

Sonowal said young Indians had made valuable contribution in different spheres of their host countries. The diaspora has strong links with India and continues to support India's developmental effort. This is evidenced by the annual remittances, $70 billion annually, he said. Adding that the young diaspora would chip in to the huge investment required to make the government's initiatives a success.