Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 18th ‘Pravasi Bharatiya Divas’ conference in Odisha’s capital Bhubaneswar on Thursday where the theme this year is ‘Contribution of NRIs in Developed India’. Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated every year on January 9 to honour the contribution of migrants.

According to the Ministry of External Affairs estimates there are more than 3.2 crore Indian migrants in the world of which more than 2 crore i.e. about 70 per cent are in America, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Britain, Canada and Sri Lanka. The maximum number of Indians, about 50 lakh, are in America.

It may be noted that the Modi government’s policy towards the Indian Diaspora has been of engagement and recognition. Ever since Prime Minister Narendra Modi took over the reins of India, he has emphasised the role of the Indian Diaspora in Indian foreign policy. He has realised the importance of the diaspora since the time he was the Chief Minister of Gujarat.

The 25 million strong Indian Diaspora is scattered around the world including over 3 million Indian-origin Diaspora in the United States. Additionally, as per government estimates the Indian Diaspora is the second largest in the world after China and therefore the Modi government has put a special focus on this section while framing India’s foreign policy.

Since 2014 the Indian government under PM Modi has prioritised dialogue and engagement with the NRI community wherein PM Modi has been directly communicating with the Indian community, trying to understand their issues and suggestions whenever he is on a foreign trip.

After assuming office as Prime Minister in 2014, Narendra Modi established the link between the Indian diaspora and the country’s........

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