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Mini diaspora meet in New York on Sep 23

By IANS

New Delhi : A mini edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, will be held in New York on Sep 23 aimed to bring together those living in the US and the Caribbean who are not able to attend the meet in India.

“A mini PBD will be held in New York on Sep 23 specifically targeting overseas Indians living in the North and South American continents and the Caribbean,” Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs Vayalar Ravi announced at an official function here Monday.

“Since many Indians in those regions could not make it to the annual PBDs held in India, there have been requests to hold a mini version of the event in that part of the world,” he said, adding that former president A.P.J. Abdul Kalam had also suggested the same.

Indian associations in those regions will be closely associated with the Sep 23 event.

Indian Americans, numbering around 2.3 million, are considered the most educated and affluent among all immigrant groups in the US. In Canada, overseas Indians number around 800,000.

“And the Caribbean is home to the second largest group of PIOs (persons of Indian origin),” the minister said.

Asked whether more such mini PBDs are being planned by the government, Ravi said, “We have got proposals for such mini PBDs in places like Singapore and Kuala Lumpur. But we will see the response to the New York event and then take a decision.”

Earlier, an official in the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) had told IANS that the mini PBD would be the inaugural event of an ‘India at 60’ celebration that would be held in New York to mark 60 years of India’s independence.

‘India at 60’ will run from Sep 23 to 27 and is being organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), MOIA and the ministries of textiles and tourism.

Giving details of the mini PBD, the official, who as per rules could not be named, had said: “The first half of the day will be devoted to investment opportunities for overseas Indians, while the second half will look at opportunities for partnerships in education and health.”

Meanwhile, preparations are on for the 2008 edition of PBD, the sixth in the series, to be held in New Delhi Jan 8-9 next year.

“The process of online registration of delegates will start shortly,” the official had said.