About Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, also called NRI Day, is India's day for its diaspora, observed on 9 January because Mahatma Gandhi came home from South Africa on that date in 1915. In 2027 it falls on Saturday, 9 January 2027. The Ministry of External Affairs marks it with a convention for overseas Indians, held every two years since 2015, and the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman awards.
Pravasi means someone who lives away from home. The day built around that word is a government observance, not a festival, but it touches a very large number of families: by the Ministry of External Affairs' count in January 2026, about 3.73 crore people of Indian nationality or origin live outside India.
What is the history of Pravasi Bharatiya Divas?
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas was started in 2003 and is held on 9 January because Mahatma Gandhi landed in Bombay on that date in 1915, after more than two decades in South Africa. He is treated as the most famous returning pravasi of all: a lawyer who had gone abroad for work, fought for the rights of Indians there, and came back to lead the freedom movement.
The idea came from a High-Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora chaired by the jurist and diplomat L. M. Singhvi, which recommended a day to renew links between overseas Indians and India. Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced it on 9 January 2002, and the first convention was held in New Delhi in 2003.
Who counts as a pravasi?
The term covers three groups that are easy to confuse, and the difference matters when you write to someone.
- NRI
- Non-Resident Indian: an Indian citizen living abroad, such as a nurse in Kuwait or an engineer in California on a work visa.
- PIO
- Person of Indian Origin: a citizen of another country with Indian ancestry, such as a Fijian, Guyanese or British family descended from migrants.
- OCI
- Overseas Citizen of India: a lifelong visa-free status for eligible PIOs, launched at the 2006 convention in Hyderabad. It is not dual citizenship.
- Girmitiya
- An indentured labourer taken to colonial plantations from 1834 into the 1920s; the word comes from "agreement".
- Pravasi
- Hindi and Sanskrit for one who lives away from home.
The MEA's January 2026 figures put NRIs at about 1.78 crore and PIOs at about 1.95 crore. The largest communities are in the United States (about 60.8 lakh), the UAE (about 43.4 lakh) and the United Kingdom (about 12.8 lakh). The Gulf numbers are almost entirely NRIs working on contracts; the Caribbean, Mauritius and Fiji numbers are almost entirely PIOs whose ancestors left generations ago.
That older diaspora is why so many chief guests have come from Mauritius, Guyana, Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago. More than 16 lakh Indian labourers were shipped to plantations under the indenture system, beginning with a voyage to Mauritius in 1834. Their descendants have since become presidents and prime ministers there.
The diaspora also sends money home. India is the world's largest recipient of remittances, at about US$125 billion in 2023, and in states such as Kerala a Gulf salary has paid for many houses, weddings and college fees.
What happens at the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention?
The convention is the Ministry of External Affairs' flagship diaspora event. It usually runs for three days around 9 January in a host state, with a youth session, plenaries on business, culture and migration, state pavilions, and a closing ceremony at which the President of India confers the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman, the highest honour India gives to NRIs, PIOs and organisations run by them.
Until 2015 it was held every year. Since then the full convention has been held every two years, with smaller theme-based conferences in between. The day itself is still observed each year, and Indian missions abroad often hold events for local communities on or near 9 January.
| Edition | Year | City | Chief guest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 2003 | New Delhi | Sir Anerood Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius |
| 4th | 2006 | Hyderabad | Ahmed Kathrada, South African anti-apartheid activist |
| 10th | 2012 | Jaipur | Kamla Persad-Bissessar, Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago |
| 13th | 2015 | Gandhinagar | Donald Ramotar, President of Guyana |
| 14th | 2017 | Bengaluru | António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal |
| 15th | 2019 | Varanasi | Pravind Jugnauth, Prime Minister of Mauritius |
| 16th | 2021 | Virtual | Chandrikapersad Santokhi, President of Suriname |
| 17th | 2023 | Indore | Irfaan Ali, President of Guyana |
| 18th | 2025 | Bhubaneswar | Christine Carla Kangaloo, President of Trinidad and Tobago |
The 18th convention in Bhubaneswar, held with the Odisha government, took "Diaspora's Contribution to a Viksit Bharat" as its theme. Alongside the conventions, the MEA runs a Pravasi Bharatiya Express tourist train for diaspora visitors. There was no convention in 2016, the year the format changed.
How do you wish someone on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas?
A Pravasi Bharatiya Divas wish works best when it names the specific distance: the city they live in, the years they have been away, the festival they missed at home. Many overseas Indians feel caught between two places, so write to both.
Happy Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, beta. Toronto is lucky to have you, and this house still keeps your chair at the table.
On Pravasi Bharatiya Divas, a thank-you for every long shift in Dubai. We know what those years have built at home.
Thinking of you on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Your great-grandparents crossed an ocean, and you still make the best dal puri I know.
Happy Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. You brought ten years of Singapore back with you, and the team is better for it.
Warm greetings on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas to everyone keeping our languages, music and food alive so far from home.
Happy Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. First winter away is the hardest. Call when the snow gets too much.
Do
- Use the person's own term: some say NRI, some prefer Indian-American or Indo-Caribbean.
- Mention something they have kept up, like a language, a recipe, a temple, a gurdwara or a cricket team.
- Remember that people of Indian origin abroad are citizens of other countries, and wish them as such.
Avoid
- Don't ask "When are you coming back for good?" in a greeting; many are settled for life.
- Avoid lines that reduce the diaspora to remittances or to "brain drain".
- Don't assume every overseas Indian is Hindu, speaks Hindi, or has family in the north.
For the day Gandhi's birth is remembered, see Gandhi Jayanti. World Hindi Day falls the next day, 10 January, and the UN's International Migrants Day is on 18 December.
How to wish someone on Pravasi Bharatiya Divas
A good Pravasi Bharatiya Divas wish speaks to someone living away from India, or whose family left generations ago, without assuming they plan to return. Name the tie that is real for them: a grandmother's village, a language kept alive in a kitchen, a job in Dubai that pays for a sister's college. Avoid treating the diaspora as money sent home, and remember that a Trinidadian or Mauritian of Indian descent is a citizen of their own country first.
Write a few lines in your own words, pick a design and share it as one link on WhatsApp, Instagram or anywhere else. They open an animated card made just for them, with no app and no sign-up.
Language tip: English, Hindi + recipient language.
When is Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2026 and 2027?
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is on 9 Jan every year. Only the weekday changes.
- 2026
- 2027
Frequently asked questions
When is Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in 2027?
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2027 falls on Saturday, 9 January 2027.
Why is Pravasi Bharatiya Divas celebrated on 9 January?
Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is on 9 January because Mahatma Gandhi returned to India from South Africa on 9 January 1915. The date honours him as the best-known Indian who went abroad and came back to change the country.
Is the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention held every year?
The day is observed every year on 9 January, but the full convention has been held every two years since 2015, with smaller theme-based conferences in the years between. The 18th convention was held in Bhubaneswar in January 2025.
Who started Pravasi Bharatiya Divas?
Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee announced Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on 9 January 2002, on the recommendation of a committee on the Indian diaspora chaired by L. M. Singhvi. The first convention was held in New Delhi in 2003.
What is the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman?
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman is the highest honour India confers on non-resident Indians, people of Indian origin and organisations they run. The President of India presents it at the closing session of the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas convention.
What is the difference between an NRI, a PIO and an OCI?
An NRI is an Indian citizen living abroad. A PIO is a citizen of another country with Indian ancestry, and an OCI is a lifelong visa status India grants to eligible people of Indian origin, which is not the same as dual citizenship.
How many overseas Indians are there?
According to the Ministry of External Affairs, about 3.73 crore people of Indian nationality or origin lived outside India as of January 2026, including about 1.78 crore NRIs. The largest communities are in the United States, the UAE and the United Kingdom.
Last verified by the Kehdoo team on .