Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention

Why in News?

• The Prime Minister has recently inaugurated the 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in Madhya Pradesh on the occasion of Pravasi Bhartiya Diwas (PBD)

Highlights

• Over the years, the convention, which began in 2003, has grown in size and scope, particularly since 2015, when the yearly convention became a biennial affair.
• The term diaspora traces Its roots to the Greek diaspeiro, which means dispersion. The Indian diaspora has grown manifold since the first batch of Indians were taken to counties in the eastern pacific and the Caribbean islands under the ‘Girmitiya’ arrangement as indentured labourers.
• NRIs are Indians who are residents of foreign countries. A person is considered NRI if:

• She/he is not in India for 182 days or more during the financial year Or;
• If he/she is in India for less than 365 days during the 4 years preceding that year and less than 60 days in that year.
• PIO refers to a foreign citizen (except a national of Pakistan, Afghanistan Bangladesh, China, Iran, Bhutan, Sri Lanka and Nepal) who:
• At any time held an Indian passport, or who or either of their parents/ grandparents/great grandparents was born and permanently resided in India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935 or who is a spouse of a citizen of India or a PIO.
• The PIO category was abolished in 2015 and merged with the OCI category.

• Separate category of OCI was carved out in 2005. An OCI card was given to a foreign national:

• Who was eligible to be a citizen of India on January 26, 1950
• Was a citizen of India on or at any time after January 26, 1950 or belonged to a territory that became part of India after August 15, 1947.
• Minor children of such individuals, except those who were a citizen of Pakistan or Bangladesh, were also eligible for OCI cards.