Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to be held in Kochi

NEW DELHI: Gulf workers Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, the annual event for the Indian diaspora, will be held in Kochi between January 7 and 9, 2013, the minister for overseas Indian affairs Vayalar Ravi announced on Tuesday.

And because of the large number of Indian workers in the Gulf countries from Kerala, the 11th edition of the event will have a very big participation from that region, the minister added.

"We hope to have a big participation from countries such as US and UK too, but we are expecting very big numbers from the Gulf countries. This is obviously because the event will be held in Kerala," the minister said.

Annually, the Indian government processes six to eight lakh emigration check required (ECR) passports of workers who travel to the Gulf countries and some other destinations for jobs. For the last financial year, the number of Indian workers who moved to the Gulf countries was about 6 lakh.

The ministry of overseas Indian affairs, has recently announced a pension and life insurance fund scheme for Indian workers in the Gulf. The scheme has already been launched as a pilot project in Kerala.

"For the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Kochi, there will be a session dedicated to Indian women overseas. This will include many of the issues relating to Indian women workers in the Gulf and other regions," Mr Ravi said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will deliver the inaugural address of the PBD on January 8, 2013, while the new President will deliver the valedictory address and confer the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman awards on January 9.