The Union Minister for External Affairs & Overseas
Indian Affairs Shrimati Sushma Swaraj will chair the ninth edition of the Regional
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (RPBD) to be held in Los Angeles, California, USA on 14-15 November. 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
(14.11.2015).
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.
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KSP/RDS/ak