The 17th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention in the Indian city of Indore was glittering with shining stars of the Indian Diaspora on its valedictory session.
As President of India Droupadi Murmu conferred Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Awards to 27 carefully selected members of the 32 million-strong global Indian Diaspora.
Indian Australian Dr Chennupati Jagadish was among the recipients of the Pravasi Bhartiya Samman.
Prof Chennupati is a Physicist and Nanotechnology Pioneer and was recently appointed as the President of the prestigious Australian Academy of Science (AAS).
Prof. Jagadish who studied by the light of a kerosene lamp up until grade seven went on to receive a B.Sc. degree from Nagarjuna University in 1977, M.Sc (Tech) degree from Andhra University in 1980, and M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Delhi in 1982 and 1986, respectively.
He moved to Australia in 1990 and became an Australian citizen in 1995. Here, he established a major research program in the field of optoelectronics and nanotechnology.
WATCH VIDEO: Prof. Chennupati Jagadish’s exclusive interview with The Australia Today’s Editor Pallavi Jain
Prof. Jagadish has served as an advisor to the Australian Government on Nanotechnology, and also established the Australian Nanotechnology Network and the Canberra node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility to serve academic and industrial needs. He has also served as the President of the IEEE Nanotechnology Council (2008, 2009), IEEE Photonics Society (2018,2019), Australian Materials Research Society (2016-2019) and is currently serving as the President of the Australian Academy of Science (May 2022-May 2026).
Pravasi Bhartiya Samman Award (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 organisation/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.
A Jury-cum-Awards Committee, with India’s Vice-President Jagdish Dhankar as the Chairman and External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar as the Vice-Chair with other distinguished members from various walks of life considered the nominations for the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards, 2023 and unanimously selected the awardees.
Following is the list of Awardees recommended by Jury-cum-Awards Committee for conferment of the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Award 2023:
| Sr. No. | Name | Country | Field |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prof. Jagadish Chennupati | Australia | Science & Technology/ Education |
| 2 | Prof. Sanjeev Mehta | Bhutan | Education |
| 3 | Prof. Dilip Loundo | Brazil | Art & Culture/Education |
| 4 | Dr. Alexander Maliakel John | Brunei Darussalam | Medicine |
| 5 | Dr. Vaikuntam Iyer Lakshmanan | Canada | Community Welfare |
| 6 | Mr. Joginder Singh Nijjar | Croatia | Art & Culture/Education |
| 7 | Prof. Ramjee Prasad | Denmark | Information Technology |
| 8 | Dr. Kannan Ambalam | Ethiopia | Community Welfare |
| 9 | Dr. Amal Kumar Mukhopadhyay | Germany | Community Welfare/Medicine |
| 10 | H.E. Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali | Guyana | Politics/Community Welfare |
| 11 | Ms. Reena Vinod Pushkarna | Israel | Business/Community Welfare |
| 12 | Dr. Maqsooda Sarfi Shiotani | Japan | Education |
| 13 | Dr. Rajagopal | Mexico | Education |
| 14 | Mr. Amit Kailash Chandra Lath | Poland | Business/Community Welfare |
| 15 | Mr. Parmanand Sukhumal Daswani | Republic of Congo | Community Welfare |
| 16 | Mr. Piyush Gupta | Singapore | Business |
| 17 | Mr. Mohanlal Hira | South Africa | Community Welfare |
| 18 | Mr. Sanjaykumar Shivabhai Patel | South Sudan | Business/Community Welfare |
| 19 | Mr. Sivakumar Nadesan | Sri Lanka | Community Welfare |
| 20 | Dr. Dewanchandrebhose Sharman | Suriname | Community Welfare |
| 21 | Dr. Archana Sharma | Switzerland | Science & Technology |
| 22 | Justice Frank Arthur Seepersad | Trinidad & Tobago | Community Welfare/Education |
| 23 | Mr. Siddharth Balachandran | UAE | Business/Community Welfare |
| 24 | Mr. Chandrakant Babubhai Patel | UK | Media |
| 25 | Dr. Darshan Singh Dhaliwal | USA | Business/Community Welfare |
| 26 | Mr. Rajesh Subramaniam | USA | Business |
| 27 | Mr. Ashok Kumar Tiwary | Uzbekistan | Business |
Addressing the gathering, the President of India said that the Indian Diaspora today has become an important and unique force in the global system. It has grown into an energetic and confident community in every region and is making stellar contributions to world affairs in leadership positions.
“Our Diaspora has exhibited extraordinary dedication and hard work, and has overcome many challenges to achieve excellence in all walks of life – including art, literature, politics, sports, business, academics, philanthropy, science and technology.”
President Murmu said that over the last two decades, the Pravasi Bhartiya Divas Convention has served as a unique platform to enable fruitful engagement between the Government, the people of India and the Diaspora.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Samman Awards symbolise the India’s highest recognition of the Diaspora members for their contributions to India and their home countries.
Referring to the theme of this year’s Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention – “Diaspora: Reliable Partners for India’s Progress in Amrit Kaal”, President Murmu said that it reflects India’s desire to make its Diaspora a partner in the achievement of its national developmental goals.
She said that in the next 25 years, India is going to embark on an ambitious journey of collective hard work, sacrifice and intensive development to transform into a self-reliant world leader by 2047, when we would be celebrating the centenary of our independence.
The President said that the collective power and potential of the Indian Diaspora would be a force multiplier in the nation’s inclusive development. She urged each and every member of the Diaspora family to become a full partner in this journey.
President Murmu said that diaspora can contribute with their energy, experience, ideas, business acumen, investments, technical expertise and knowledge sharing, to enhance our capacities to fulfil the vision of an Atmanirbhar Bharat.
She concluded by saying, While the Indian Diaspora has built enriching and productive lives in their adopted homes in different corners of the world, they would always hold a special place in our hearts: not only as extended family members but as responsible stakeholders in India’s development.
