Mumbai to host 3rd Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas from Friday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will inaugurate the third three-day Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas in Mumbai on Friday, minister of state for overseas affairs Jagdish Tytler said on Tuesday. There will be 1,902 overseas participants, including 1,400 Indians from 60 countries.

"The Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas is an annual event to engage with India's 20 million-strong diaspora spread across the world. It is also an event to encourage non-resident Indians to participate in the country's development," Tytler said at a press conference here.

President A P J Abdul Kalam will address the summit on Sunday, he said.

This year, 15 non-resident Indians from different walks of life will be felicitated at the summit. These include Sam Pitroda for technology, Manoj Night Shyamalan for cinema and ace golfer Vijay Singh.

Among others, the summit will also be addressed by finance minister P Chidambaram and commerce and industry minister Kamal Nath.

However, this year's summit will be a low-key affair due to the December 26 tsunami tragedy, in which a lot many lives were lost in the southern coastal regions. A special session on disaster management, rehabilitation and the role of overseas Indians has also been organised.

Volunteers who have worked in the tsunami-hit areas have been invited to share their experiences to help non-residents Indians play "a more constructive role" if such disasters were to strike in future, Tytler said.