Pravasi Bharatiya Divas LIVE: Modi calls for 'One World, One Sun, One Grid'

The 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) began on Tuesday. For the first time, the three-day-long convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh mela in Allahabad and attend the Republic Day parade. The theme of this year's convention is 'role of Indian diaspora in building new India'.

Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth was the chief guest of the convention, while Himanshu Gulati, member of the Parliament of Norway, was the special guest. Kanwaljit Singh Bakshi, member of Parliament of New Zealand was the guest of honour.

The decision to celebrate Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas was taken by then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and the first event was celebrated on January 9, 2003.

While inaugurating the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, Prime Minister Narendra Modi welcomed NRIs and called them 'brand ambassadors of India.'

Catch LIVE updates on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi.