Bhubaneswar: President Droupadi Murmu honoured overseas Indians, including Ravi Kumar S who hails from Odisha, during the valedictory session of the three-day 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention in Bhubaneswar on Friday.
The President conferred the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards 2025 on 27 individuals and organisations from countries like the US, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, Moldova, Myanmar, Russia and Saudi Arabia.
Murmu congratulated all the awardees and appreciated them for working for the society in different fields.
She especially thanked Trinidad & Tobago President Christine Carla Kangaloo, one of the recipients of the award. Those conferred with the award included Kangaloo who got it in the public affairs category. The Trinidad & Tobago President joined the event virtually.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award (PBSA) is the highest honour conferred on overseas Indians. PBSA is conferred by the President of India as part of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention on Non-Resident Indians, Persons of Indian Origin or an organization/institution established and run by the Non-Resident Indians or Persons of Indian Origin in recognition of their outstanding achievements both in India and abroad.
Ravi Kumar S, who is the CEO of global tech giant Cognizant, is of a humble origin in Odisha. The journey of Ravi Kumar S is an inspiration for everyone daring to dream and make it big in life. He is the first Odia CEO of any Fortune 200 company and is among the highest-paid CEOs. Born and raised in Ganjam’s Berhampur, his childhood was rooted in simplicity and ambition.
Speaking at the valedictory ceremony, President Murmu said that the Indian diaspora represents the best of our country.” You, the sons and daughters of Bharat, have carried with you not just the knowledge and skills acquired in the sacred land but also the values and ethos that have been the foundation of our civilisation,” she said
Prominent among the recipients was a former pharma CEO in Japan to a Spanish politician, a medical practitioner empanelled with the Saudi royals to a businessman in Malawi.
Among the awardees are President of Trinidad & Tobago Christine Carla Kangaloo in public affairs, Baroness Usha Kumari Prashar from the UK in politics, Dr Sharmila Ford from the US in community service and Dr Syed Anwar Khursheed from Saudi Arabia in the field of Medical Science.
The Ministry of External Affairs had announced the names of the awardees for this year from countries like the US, Fiji, Guyana, Mauritius, Moldova, Myanmar, Russia and Saudi Arabia on January 3. The award recognises outstanding achievements in various fields and celebrates the accomplishments and commitments of NRIs and PIOs in sectors such as education, science and innovation, trade and industry, arts and culture, social work, public service, and philanthropy.
Murmu graced the closing ceremony at the convention, which began on January 8. Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally inaugurated and addressed the event on Thursday.
The delegates participated in various plenary sessions on various issues during the three-day convention, which was formally inaugurated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 9 commemorating the return of Mahatma Gandhi to India from South Africa in 1915.
The last day of the mega event witnessed two plenary sessions – ‘Diaspora Divas: Celebrating Women’s Leadership and Influence – Nari Shakti’ and ‘Diaspora Dialogues: Stories of Culture, Connection, and Belongingness’.
Following is the list of PBSA Recipients:
1.Prof. Ajay Rane, Australia, Community Service
2.Dr. Marialena Joan Fernandes, Austria, Education
3.Dr. Philomena Ann Mohini Harris, Barbados, Medical Science
4.Swami Sanyuktanand, Fiji, Community Service
5.Saraswati Vidya Niketan, Guyana, Community Service
6.Dr. Lekh Raj Juneja, Japan, Science & Technology
7.Dr. Prem Kumar, Kyrgyz, Republic, Medical Science
8.Mr. Soukthavy Chowdhury, Laos, Business
9.Mr. Krishna Savjani, Malawi, Business
10.‘Tan Sri’ Dr. Subramaniam K.V. SathasivamMalaysiaPolitics
11.Dr. Sarita Boodhoo, Mauritius, Community Service
12.Mr. Abhaya Kumar, Moldova, Business
13.Dr. Ram Niwas @ Hla Tun, Myanmar, Education
14.Mr. Jaggannath Shekhar Asthana, Romania, Business
15.Hindustani Samaj, Russia, Community Service
16.Ms. Sudha Rani Gupta, Russia, Education
17.Dr. Syed Anwar Khursheed, Saudi Arabia, Medical Science
18.Mr. Atul Arvind Temurnikar, Singapore, Education
19.Mr. Robert Masih Nahar, Spain, Community Service
20.Dr. Kaushik Laxmidas Ramaiya, Tanzania, Medicine
21.H.E. Christine Carla Kangaloo ORTT, Trinidad & Tobago, Public Affairs
22.Mr. Ramakrishnan Sivaswamy Iyer, UAE, Business
23.Mr. Bonthala Subbaiah Setty Ramesh Babu, Uganda, Community Service
24.Baroness Usha Kumari Prashar, UK, Politics
25.Dr. Sharad Lakhanpal, USA, Medicine
26.Dr. Sharmila Ford, USA, Community Service
27.Mr. Ravi Kumar S., USA, Business (IT & Consulting)
