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.
Sources in the external affairs ministry said some of the heavyweights declined the invitation because they were expecting to be sponsored.
