SINGAPORE: The first mini Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) in Asia took place in Singapore with an impressive participation of over 400 delegates from Singapore, West Asia, US, Australia and South East Asia. Addressing the opening meeting, the Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore, Prof S. Jayakumar, said the hosting of this event in Singapore was a celebration of the "excellent bilateral relations between India and Singapore".
He said 9 per cent of Singaporeans are Indians and the nation recognizes the fact that "Indians have contributed significantly to the socio-economic progress of this country." He added that the significance Singapore attaches to this event can be gauged from the participation of the "President (S R Nathan), Prime Minister (Lee Hsien Loong), Minister Mentor (Lee Kuan Yew) of Singapore and Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong in the event. S Iswaran, Senior Minister of State, Ministry of Trade and Industry, Singapore, noted that there were over 3,000 Indian companies in Singapore which had used it as their "springboard to the entire world."
The Indian High Commissioner to Singapore, Dr S. Jaishankar, said the PBD was "a celebration of India's globalization and proved that India's ideas and energy have had a global impact." Welcoming the gathering, the CII Chief Mentor, Tarun Das, said PBD-Singapore was meant to connect the Indian diaspora in Singapore and the rest of South-east Asia with India. Vijay Iyengar, Chairman of the Singapore India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, one of the organizers of the event, proposed the vote of thanks.
India's Minister for Overseas Affairs Vayalar Ravi on his inaugural speech said the 30 million-strong Indian diaspora across the globe is making their presence felt economically, socially and politically in the countries wherever they are living. He said that they could play crucial role in India's growth. He said as a result of a request from NRIs, an "NRI University will be set up in Bangalore within the next two years by the Manipal University where 50 per cent of seats will be reserved for the children of NRIs." He also assured that India remains "the most attractive destination for foreign investors" and its "economic fundamentals are very strong." In a bid to dispel the concerns of external entrepreneurs, including non-resident Indians (NRI) and people of Indian origin (PIO) among foreign citizens, Ravi said "Singur is not India" in its entirety.
He noted that industrialist Ratan Tata could find another place in India to re-locate his Nano car project, which was originally planned to come up at Singur in West Bengal. In fact, the ground reality in India was reflected in the fact that several other States vied to offer an alternative site for the project, Ravi emphasized.
Hailing 'PBD Singapore' as a wonderful event, he said several other countries, including Mauritius with a big Indian-origin population, had now offered to host the next external 'PBD.' The regular annual 'PBD,' planned to be organized in Chennai next January, might attract over 1,500 delegates, he said.
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