Bhubaneswar (Odisha) [India], January 9 : After artist Prafulla Mohanti, a British citizen of Indian origin, claimed he was denied entry to the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas event after his application was allegedly rejected for not possessing a PAN card, the sources clarified that a PAN card is not required for registration.
"PAN card is not required for registration in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas. Prafulla Mohanti, a British citizen of Indian origin did not register for the event," the source said.
Born and brought up in the village of Nanpur in Odisha, Mohanti held his first exhibition at Leeds University. He received his diploma in Town Planning and worked for the Greater London Council (GLC) for five years as an Architect Planner and was elected as a member of the Royal Town Planning Institute.
He later left the GLC and devoted his time to painting and writing.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Divas (PBD) Convention is the flagship event of the Government of India that provides an important platform to connect and engage with the Indian diaspora and enable them to interact with each other. The 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is being organized in partnership with the State Government of Odisha from January 8 to 10 in Bhubaneswar.
The theme of this PBD Convention is "Diaspora's Contribution to a Viksit Bharat." A large number of Indian diaspora members from over 50 different countries have registered to participate in the PBD Convention.
A day earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi arrived in Bhubaneswar and was received by Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi at Bhubaneswar airport.
Odisha Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati, Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi and Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan received PM Modi at Bhubaneswar Airport, Odisha.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention in Odisha today.
The Prime Minister will also virtually flag off the inaugural journey of the Pravasi Bharatiya Express, a special Tourist Train for the Indian diaspora, which will depart from the Nizamuddin Railway Station in Delhi and will travel to multiple destinations of tourism and religious importance in India for a period of three weeks.
The Pravasi Bharatiya Express will be conducted under the Pravasi Teertha Darshan Yojana.
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