New Delhi: Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) official spokesperson Vikas Swarup on Sunday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi will soon launch the ‘Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana’ which is targeted at the Indian youth seeking overseas employment.
“He (Prime Minister Narendra Modi) said that we will shortly be launching a skill development programme called the `Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojana`, which is targeted at Indian youth seeking overseas employment. This will be very significant given that we have more than 31 million Indians living and working outside India,” he told ANI.
Swarup further said that the Prime Minister talked about the tremendous contributions that the Pravasi Bharatiyas make to the progress and development of India.
“He talked about the tremendous contributions that Pravasi Bharatiyas make to the progress and development of India, to the progress and development of their societies where they are living and working…their `karmbhoomi`, but India has always been their `marnbhoomi`. That is the central point that he made today. He also talked about a number of schemes and I thought that was very significant,” he added.
The MEA official spokesperson further said that Prime Minister Modi made a very significant announcement that OCIs who have difficulty in proving the necessary documentation of the fourth or fifth generation will be having procedures so that the descendants become eligible for the OCI cards.
“The 14th `Pravasi Bharatiya Divas` was inaugurated in the presence of the Prime Minister of India as well as the chief guest, the Prime Minister of Portugal. The event was held in the presence of 8,000 delegates, making it the largest `Pravasi Bharatiya Divas` ever,” he added.
The Prime Minister earlier in the day announced that the `Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojna` would be launched for Indian youth seeking employment overseas.
“The government will launch skill development program, Pravasi Kaushal Vikas Yojna for Indian youth who seek employment overseas. I would again encourage all PIO Card holders to convert their PIO Cards to OCI Cards,” he added.
The 14th edition of the three-day event began in the country`s IT hub yesterday with the spotlight on role of youth in transforming the society and India`s potential to play the role of a `Vishwa Guru` again.
The three-day event concludes on Monday, with President Pranab Mukherjee delivering the valedictory address. The convention is an important platform for engagement with the overseas Indian community.