BHUBANESWAR: Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Saturday said the central government is planning to organise the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Bhubaneswar in January next year.
Pradhan informed this before participating in a cleanliness drive under Swacchta Abhiyan at Mangala Basti, a slum in Chandrasekharpur area of the city.
“I have information that Government of India has chosen Bhubaneswar as the venue for next edition of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas which is celebrated in January every year. This will be followed by an investment summit (Utkarsh Odisha: Make in Odisha Conclave 2025) in the city. We have to preserve the speciality of Bhubaneswar as a clean city by joining hands to maintain cleanliness before the event,” he said.
Describing Bhubaneswar as a beautiful city, Pradhan said, “It is a planned city and has got the tag of a smart city as well. There have been some shortcomings in the facilities for residents in view of the rapid growth of the city and inclusion of more areas under the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). We are confident that all the deficiencies will be overcome by joint efforts of the BMC and the state government.”
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is being celebrated on January 9 every year since 2003 to mark the contribution of Overseas Indian community in the development of India. The last Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention was held from January 8 to 10, 2023 at Indore in Madhya Pradesh as the partner state.