“You can take Indians out of India, but you can’t take Indians out of them”
– Shri Anurag Singh Thakur
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On the 8th of January, a plenary session of the 3-day Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) convention in Indore was addressed by the Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports, Shri Anurag Thakur. This is the 17th edition of the convention, and this year’s theme is “Diaspora: reliable partners for India’s progress in Amrit Kaal.”
The first day’s theme was celebrated as Youth Pravasi Divas with the theme- Role of Diaspora Youth in Innovation and Technology.
Indian Diaspora and Indian Youth
Shri Anurag Thakur praised the youth of today and said that the convention is not only about finding roots but rooting for everything that makes us Indian. It is a moment to reconnect and reimagine new possibilities, and a network to drive change, discover new ties, and develop new ideas.
The Minister further elaborated that he could say with a sense of pragmatism and confidence that the youth, both from India and the diaspora community, have made remarkable achievements in the realms of technology, business, politics, creativity, and innovation across the globe. Indians, in India or abroad, have always held their heads high and their hearts open to leading the world into the bold and bright future that awaits us. Then he invited everyone to innovate, invest, and initiate their ideas in India.
Shri Anurag Thakur said that when on one hand Indian Diaspora brings a multi-layered gain to the IT industry in terms of enhanced skills and capital formation- human, social and financial. On the other, the Indian IT industry has created a strong motivation for the mobility of highly skilled professionals and provided the diaspora with the much-needed opportunity to engage with their motherland.
Schemes to Connect the Youth
The Union Minister further highlighted how Modi Government’s vision for the Indian Diaspora is to see a seamless two-way flow of ideas and capital between the diaspora counterparts from around the world. The aim is to link up and facilitate ties between Indian start-ups and young diaspora innovators and investors based in their countries of domicile, generating a cross-pollination of ideas.
Shri Anurag Thakur mentioned that people of Indian origin have displayed determination to prove their worth and found solutions to some of the most pressing issues on the planet. Some of the brightest minds of Indian origin have played strategic roles in the success of tech powerhouses worldwide. Today, the list of Indian-origin CEOs sitting at top companies is endless, and similar is the case with the list of Indian-origin political leaders across the world.
He said that in recent years, a range of policies have been launched by the government of India to harness the energy and ideas of the Indian diaspora. The ‘Know India Programme’ (KIP) is one such initiative to expose Indian diaspora youth to various aspects of contemporary India and its vibrant art, heritage, and culture. Global Initiative for Academic Network (GIAN), the VAJRA Faculty Scheme, which aims to bring strong international connections to the R&D ecosystem of India, the Mission Shodh Ganga (Global Alliance for New Generation Acceleration), the Scholarship Program for Diaspora Children (SPDC), and Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC).
