Agencies
New Delhi, Jan 11: Overseas Indians were urged to look at ways to become partners in the growth of India.
The president distributed the prestigious Pravasi Bharatiya Samman to 15 overseas Indians for their outstanding service to the community and for enhancing the nation's image abroad.
Among them was Bahrain-based Indian business tycoon Dr Ravi Pillai, whose business empire in Saudi Arabia and Qatar employs 35,000 people, of whom 28,000 are Indians.
He is the managing director of Nasser Al Hajri Corporation and nine other business groups in the Gulf and India.
The delegates from Bahrain, including Indian School chairman P V Radhakrishna Pillai and Bahrain Keraleeya Samajam president G K Nair, joined Dr Pillai's wife Geetha and more than 25 representatives of his business groups at Vigyan Bhavan in celebrating the award last night.
Other award winners are: Mauritius Prime Minister Dr Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Neville Joseph Roach (Australia), A P S Mani (Japan), Judge Ajit Swarn Singh (New Zealand), Dr Rafiudin Fazulbhoy (Saudi Arabia), Bicky Chakraborty (Sweden), Krishnamurthy Kumar (Dubai), Lord Karan Bilimoria (UK), Dr Thomas Abraham and Joy Cherian (both US) and the National Council of Indian Culture at Trinidad and Tobago.
The call came from Indian President Pratibha Patil at the concluding ceremony of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD 2008), New Delhi.
"Estimated at about 25 million in 130 countries, the Indian Diaspora is a significant economic, social and cultural force in the world today," she said.
"Overseas Indians are representatives of the country and its people, regions, religions, languages, values, culture and history.
"The general reputation of Indians living abroad is that they are hardworking, loyal and committed to the country in which they live and work.
"This should be kept up. At the same time, overseas Indians should also look at ways in which they can be partners in the growth."
The PBD delegates deliberated on how they could contribute to the social development of India.
Several ideas have emerged for building partnerships in health, education, rural development, empowerment of women and gender equality.
These ideas must be transformed into individual initiatives and community action, said Patil.
"India is emerging on the global stage and is today the fastest growing free market democracy," she said.
"With a growth rate of nine per cent per annum over the last three years, the economy has demonstrated the capacity for sustained growth.
"With foreign exchange reserves in excess of $250 billion and Foreign Direct Investment of nearly $30bn last year, we are confident that we will attain a growth rate of 10pc.
"This growth has helped us lift millions of people out of poverty. We have been able to expand access to education, healthcare and economic opportunities to a vast majority of our population."
The president urged Indians living abroad to contribute to projects in the fields of education, health and rural development, as well as invest in infrastructure projects and enterprises.
"There have been some recent initiatives, including partnerships involving overseas institutions and the Indian Diaspora, helping the country to further its development goals and invest in its human capital," she said.
"More such partnerships should be established. Linkages between institutions of advanced learning would also be useful.
"Overseas Indians could be catalysts and promoters of such ties given that they represent a reservoir of knowledge, skills, resources and enterprise," she added.