Bhubaneshwar the capital city of Odisha will host the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention from 8-10 January 2025. It is the first time that Bhubaneswar is hosting the biannual Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention.

As part of the Bharatiya Divas Convention, the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be held in Bhubaneshwar on 8 January 2025.

In India, the 9th of January is observed as the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas since 2003 to mark the contribution of the Pravasi Bhartiya (Overseas Indian) community to the development of India.

The 17 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Conventions were held in Indore, Madhya Pradesh from 8 – 10 January 2023.

Organisers of the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention

The Union Ministry of External Affairs is organising the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention in association with the Odisha state government.
The Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be organised by the Ministry of External Affairs in partnership with the Union Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports and the Odisha government.

Chief Guest of the 18th Pravasi/Youth Bharatiya Divas Convention

The Chief Guest of the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention will be Christine Carla Kangaloo, President of Trinidad & Tobago. She will address the convention virtually on 9 January 2025.
The Chief Guest of the Youth Pravasi Bharatiya Divas will be Dr. Dev Pragad, CEO of the American magazine Newsweek.

Inauguration and Valedictory Session 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention

The 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention will be inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 9th January 2025. PM Modi will virtually flag off the first special tourist train for the Indian diaspora, Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a. The train will depart from Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi covering multiple destinations of tourist and religious importance.

President Droupadi Mumru will address the valedictory session of the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention on 10th January 2025.

President Murmu will also confer the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award to 27 individuals.

The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award is given to Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Persons of Indian Origin (PIO), or an organisation/institution established and run by the NRI/PIO in recognition of their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad.

Theme of the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention

The theme of the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention is "Diaspora’s Contribution to a Viksit Bharat”.

About the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas /Convention

The Pravasi Bhartiya Divas is celebrated by the government of India every year on 9th January on the recommendation of Dr. L.M. Singhvi’s ‘High-Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora’.

The day was chosen to mark the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India on 9 January 1915 to India onboard the ship S.S.Arabia in Mumbai (then Bombay).

The Ministry of External Affairs organises a three-day event known as Pravasi Bhartiya Convention to mark the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas.

The first Pravasi Bhartiya Divas/Convention was organised in 2003 in New Delhi from 9-11 January 2003.

It was organised annually but since 2015, it has been organised biannually.

List of the Pravasi Bhartiya Convention

Serial Number	Year	Venue	Chief Guest
1	2003,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister, Mauritius
2	2004,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Bharrat Jagdeo, President, Guyana
3	2005,(9-11 January)	Mumbai	J.R. Ajodhia, Vice President, Suriname
4	2006,(9-11 January)	Hyderabad	Ahmed Kathrada, South Africa
5	2007,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Prof. S. Jayakumar, Dy. Prime Minister, Singapore
6	2008,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Dr. Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister, Mauritius
7	2009,(9-11 January)	Chennai	Dr. Ramdien Sardjoe, Vice President,Suriname
8	2010,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Dr. Khalid Hameed, Chairman, United Kingdom
9	2011,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Anand Satyanand, Governor General, New Zealand
10	2012,(9-11 January)	Jaipur	Ms. Kamla Persad Bissessar, Trinidad and Tobago
11	2013,(9-11 January)	Kochi	Rajkeswur Purryag, President, Mauritius
12	2014,(9-11 January)	New Delhi	Dato Sri G. Palanivel, Malaysia
13	2015,(9-11 January)	Gandhinagar	Donald Rabinderanauth Ramotar, President of of Guyana
14	2017,(9-11 January)	Bengaluru	Dr. Antonio Costa, Prime Minister, Portugal
15	2019,(21-23 January)	Varanasi	Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister, Mauritius
16	2021,(9 January)	Virtual	Mr. Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President Suriname
17	2023,(8-10 January)	Indore	Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana
18	2025,(8-10 January	Bhubaneshwar	Christine Carla Kangaloo, President of Trinidad & Tobago