Sushma Swaraj to chair the ninth edition of the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas

The Indian Delegation includes Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs; Ambassador of India to USA; the Consul General of India in San Francisco, senior officials from four State Governments and captains of the Indian Industry.

The RPBD is an annual event organised by the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA), as part of its outreach to the Indian Diaspora in various global regions. So far eight RPBDs have been held, the last in London in October 2014.

The Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be inaugurated by Smt Sushma Swaraj on Saturday.

RPBD will provide a unique platform and opportunity for the Government to engage with the Indian Diaspora in USA on issues such as Increasing engagement with the Indian Diaspora; Role of Diaspora in the new initiatives of the Government of India (such as Digital India, Make in India, National Mission for Clean Ganga, Swachh Bharat etc); Innovation and Entrepreneurship; Education, Skills and Vocational Training; Soft-power-yoga, and the Bollywood-Hollywood Connect.

The Indian Diaspora will be briefed about opportunities for business, investments, partnerships and possibilities for their contributions in these sectors. They will also be informed about the recent reforms in FDI announced by the Government on 10th November. The RPBD will provide an opportunity for the overseas Indian community to interact with the Indian delegation and convey their suggestions on all these issues.

The Indian delegation includes officials from four state Governments : Chief Secretary to Government of Andhra Pradesh; Managing Director – Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIDC); Principal Secretary, Department of Industries, Government of Jharkhand, and the Government of Kerala. The State Governments will lead the session on “Business Opportunities in India” and showcase opportunities to invest and do business in their respective States.

Before the inaugural of the RPBD, an Indian Diaspora Business Meet will be held at the same venue, from 1300-1800 hrs on 14 November. The event will be organized by the Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC) a PPP between the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and the Confederation of Indian Industry.

The Business Meet includes three panel discussions with speakers from the Indian industry & subject matter experts from US participating, on following subjects:

·        Investment Opportunities in Clean & Renewable Energy Sector in India

·        Technology Partnerships, Investments & Innovation through the Digital India Initiative

·        Impact Investments into Social Enterprises in India

OIFC is organising B2B and B2G meetings of the Indian delegation with members of the overseas Indian community on 14 and 15 November.

The OIFC’s Indian Business delegation which will participate in the Indian Diaspora Business Meet and the RPBD, includes senior executives from CII, entrepreneurs/ business owners and innovators from sectors including -Manufacturing, Renewable Energy, IT and IT enabled Services, Port technologies, Social Entrepreneurs, Impact investing, Healthcare, Hospitality, Real Estate, Market entry firms who can advise on business investment laws and regulatory aspects with India.

The RPBD and OIFC Business Meet are being organised by MOIA in close coordination with the Embassy of India in USA, the Consulate General of India in San Francisco; and the Indian Associations in USA.