Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2025: Panel Discussion Highlights Diaspora’s Role in Green Growth

Indore: As part of the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention, a thought-provoking panel discussion titled “Green Connections: The Indian Diaspora’s Contributions to Sustainable Development” brought together global leaders to explore the pivotal role of the Indian diaspora in advancing sustainability initiatives. Moderated by Pradip Kumar Das, Chairman and Managing Director of the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), the session was chaired by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Hon’ble Minister of Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics & Information Technology.

Vaishnaw, in his opening remarks, emphasized India’s remarkable progress in renewable energy, outlining three key priorities: increasing renewable energy capacity to 50% of the nation’s total by 2030, achieving self-sufficiency in advanced clean energy technologies like hydrogen trains, and building a robust value chain for sustainable energy, including green hydrogen, photovoltaic cells, and lithium-ion batteries.

The panel featured distinguished speakers from Mauritius, Norway, Mexico, Vietnam, Switzerland, Nigeria, Sri Lanka, and Canada, alongside Indian leaders such as Shri Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo, Hon’ble Deputy Chief Minister of Odisha, and Shri Sujeet Kumar, Hon’ble Member of Parliament. These global visionaries shared strategies for leveraging innovative technologies, investments, and collaborations to drive sustainable development on an international scale.

Pradip Kumar Das set the stage by highlighting India’s leadership in the global green energy transition. With an installed renewable energy capacity of 206 GW as of November 2024 and an ambitious target of 500 GW from non-fossil sources by 2030, India is at the forefront of sustainable transformation. He underscored IREDA’s significant contributions, including its role as India’s largest green financing non-banking financial company (NBFC), managing an asset base of ₹69,000 crore ($8.3 billion) and achieving cumulative sanctions of ₹2.39 lakh crore and disbursements of ₹1.53 lakh crore as of Q3 FY25.

The discussion explored diverse themes, such as diaspora-driven investments in sustainable innovations, the future of green technologies in sectors like agriculture, electric mobility, and MSMEs, and opportunities for global collaboration. A key takeaway was the importance of enhancing partnerships between the diaspora and Indian startups to advance the sustainable development agenda.

In his concluding remarks, Vaishnaw called for leveraging the expertise and networks of the diaspora to strengthen global partnerships. He emphasized the need for cooperation in technology, innovation, and green skills development, reinforcing India’s commitment to building a sustainable future.

The 2025 Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention reaffirmed the critical role of the Indian diaspora in fostering a greener tomorrow and highlighted India’s leadership in uniting nations for a sustainable and inclusive world.