By IANS,
New Delhi : Online registration for the seventh Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD), the annual conclave of the Indian diaspora, started Thursday, with Overseas Indian Affairs Minister Vayalar Ravi launching a website of the event.
The seventh PBD, to be held in Chennai Jan 7-9, is co-organised by the overseas Indian affairs ministry, the Tamil Nadu government and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
Ravi said 1,500 to 2,000 delegates are expected to take part in the meet.
The website (www.pbdindia.org) has provision for online registration and gives information on the programme schedule.
The registration fee is Rs.10,000 for Indian nationals and $200 for foreign passport holders.
The theme of the PBD 2009 is “Engaging the Diaspora: The Way Forward”, and will include panel discussions on the diaspora’s role in India’s emergence as a global power, preservation of their language and culture and the role of diaspora youth in the 21st century India.