The venue of the three-day-long 10th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Birla Auditorium, on Saturday turned into a miniature India as over 1,300 NRIs from about five dozen countries mingled with each other on a sunny day.
The conference, which would formally be inaugurated by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Sunday, has given them opportunity to find their roots in the country and also to think to pay back by setting up industries and investments in other areas, including infrastructure.
Rajasthan Government, Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), and Union Ministry for Overseas Indian Affairs, the joint host of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, had left no stone unturned to give a red carpet welcome to the people of Indian origin. Other than historical monuments, all the Government buildings have been illuminated tastefully. The entire Pink City has turned into a festive mood as NRIs thronged the markets for shopping.
As there were only two seminars on Saturday — one on “Management of water for future” and “Solar energy: investment and R D”, most of the delegated visited tourist spots like Amer Fort, Jantar Mantar, City Place and other sites.
Vayalar Ravi, Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs, laid the foundation stone of the proposed Pravasi Bhawan at Situpura industrial area on the outskirts of the capital. The largest team of NRIs, nearly 200, has come from Malaysia. Harvinder Singh, a third generation Malaysian, has come here with his son. Other than visiting Golden Temple at Amritsar, he is here to explore the possibilities of investing in renewable energy sector.
“Before coming here I had gone through Rajasthan Government’s policy for wind and solar energy as western part of the State is ideal for generating pollution-free power,” he told The Pioneer.
Ashok Bhat, originally belong to Dungarpur and engaged in real estate business in California, for the past three decades, said “As two thermal power plants and one atomic energy plant is coming up in Dungarpur and Banswara area, if the State Government comes out with right kind of approach this could become the industrial hub of the State since these areas are close to Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.
Bhat has submitted a proposal to the State Government to have an industrial park, which would help in attracting investment. He has the plan to visit Nathdwara Temple near Udaipur before returning to California.
Harvinder Singh and Bhat are not the only ones who are interested in investing here as they feel India is emerging as big economic power.
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