Krishnaji Keshav Damle was a Marathi poet from Maharashtra, India, who wrote poetry under the pen name Keshavasuta.
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is a celebratory day observed on 9 January by the Republic of India to mark the contribution of the Overseas Indian community towards the development of India. The day commemorates the return of Mahatma Gandhi from South Africa to Mumbai on 9 January 1915.
Ramdien Sardjoe is a Surinamese politician and served as Vice President of Suriname from 2005 to 2010. He is a member of the Progressive Reform Party (VHP).
Tan Sri G. Vadiveloo is a former president of the Malaysian Senate, serving from 13 April 1992 to 12 June 1995. He is also a former Secretary-General of the Malaysian Indian Congress. Since leaving parliament, Vadiveloo has continued working as CEO of Tafe College and as a trustee of the Maju Institute of Educational Development.
The Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs (MOIA) was a ministry of the Government of India. It was dedicated to all matters relating to the Indian diaspora around the world.
Raghunath Manet is a French classical musician/music composer and dancer/choreographer, writer, film maker and actor, born in the Union Territory of Puducherry. He is trained in Bharathanatyam and plays the Veena, a Carnatic instrument. He has collaborated with Gilberto Gil, Aldo Brizzi, American Jazz musician Archie Shepp, American dancer Carolyn Carlson, French performers such as Richard Galliano, Didier Lockwood and Michel Portal and Indian musician Dr Balamurali Krishna and Drums Sivamani.
M. Arunaachalam is a Hong Kong-based businessman and entrepreneur, born and educated in India. He has previously been the chairman of The Indian Chamber of Commerce Hong Kong, and as of 2009, he has been a member of its General Committee. Arunaachalam is also the chairman of the Indian Chamber Fiftieth Anniversary Education Trust and the Disaster Relief Fund for India.
Ranjitsinh Mohite-Patil is an Indian politician from Bharatiya Janata Party and a Member of Legislative Council From Maharasthra.
Himanshu Gulati is a Norwegian politician representing the Progress Party. Gulati was the chairperson of the Progress Party's Youth from 2012 to 2014. He served as State Secretary in the Ministry of Justice and Public Security from 2013 to 2014, and at the Office of the Prime Minister from 2014 until 2017. In 2017 he was elected as a representative in the Norwegian parliament from Akershus, where he has served in the Committee on Justice.
Ram Labhaya Lakhina is an Indian entrepreneur and community leader living in Oegstgeest, Netherlands. He was the first Chairman of the Global Organization of People of Indian Origin (GOPIO). He is the Founder, former chairman and now Chairman Emeritus of the Netherlands India Chamber of Commerce and Trade (NICCT), serves as a Chairman of the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Foundation, and is one of the founders of The World Forum for Ethics and Business.
Sasindran Muthuvel is the Current Governor for West New Britain Province and former Minister of State Owned Enterprises in Papua New Guinea The Governor in Papua New Guinea is equivalent to the position of the Chief Minister in India. And equivalent to the position of Premier in Australia
Know India Programme abbreviated as KIP is a government initiative by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India for the Indian diaspora between the age group of 18 to 30 years. It was launched on 8 January 2014, on the occasion of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in New Delhi. The purpose of the Know India Programme is to help Persons of Indian Origin youths familiarize with their roots and contemporary India and provide them an exposure to the country of their origin. From 2016, six KIPs a year are being organised.
Lieutenant General Anil Kumar Bhatt, PVSM, UYSM, AVSM, SM, VSM was the Military Secretary of the Indian Army. Prior to this, he served as the 47th Commander, XV Corps of the Indian Army between 1 February 2018 and 7 February 2019. Prior to this he was the Director General of Military operations for one year including during the Doklam crisis in 2017. During his tenure as Corps Commander maximum terrorists were neutralized in comparison to the last one decade.
Shiny Benjamin, is a National Award-winning Indian director of documentaries and docufictions, from Trivandrum, Kerala.
Valavoor Kizhakkathil Rajasekharan Pillai or VKR Pillai is an Indian businessman from Kuttamperoor, Mannar in Alappuzha district of Kerala, living in Bahrain. He is the Chairman of Bahrain headquartered national group of companies in Bahrain. He has been awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2017, the highest honor conferred on non-resident Indians by the President of India.
Rajni Kanabar was an M.B.B.S. doctor and philanthropist belonging to the third generation of an Indian-origin family in Tanzania. He was the founder-chairman of Regency Medical Centre in Dar es Salaam, and the initiator-convenor of the Tanzania Heart Babies Project, which he established in the year 1979. Born in Mwanza, he was presented with the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award as a person of Indian origin, from the Government of India in 2010, for facilitating the surgeries of children in Tanzania suffering from congenital heart diseases. He also received the PBS Award Label from the High Commission of India in Tanzania in 2013, and the Order of the United Republic of Tanzania Medal in 2014.
Siddeek Ahmed is an Indian entrepreneur and philanthropist. He is the chairman of Eram Group, a business conglomerate with operations in several sectors including oil and gas, power, construction, manufacturing, travel, healthcare, IT, media, logistics, automotive and training and education. He also works for the benefit of rural India. Ahmed was the recipient of the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award in 2021 for his work in various domains like that of education, business, medicine, employment and the environment. Because of his work towards improved toilet hygiene, Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the Toilet Titan Award to Dr. Ahmed at the Safaigiri Summit in 2015. He is also listed as the top Indian business leader in the Middle East by Forbes in 2021
Rear Admiral Arun Auditto, AVSM, NM was a Flag Officer in the Indian Navy. He was decorated with a gallantry award during the Liberation of Goa. A pioneer submariner in the Indian Navy, he was the commissioning Commanding Officer of the Kalvari-class submarine INS Kursura (S20), which he commanded during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. He later commanded the submarine base INS Virbahu and the Whitby-class frigate INS Trishul (F143). After promotion to flag rank, he served as the Fortress Commander, Andaman and Nicobar Islands (FORTAN) and as the first Flag Officer Submarines, before retiring in 1988.
Siddharth Balachandran is an Indian-born UAE-based entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist. He is the executive chairman and CEO of Buimerc Corporation, an investment holding company headquartered in Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC). In 2023, he was awarded the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) for his contributions in the field of business and community welfare by the President of India Droupadi Murmu, the highest Indian award for Non-resident Indian and Overseas Citizen of India.
