 Hello everyone, my name is Deeksha Jain and I secured the 22nd Rankin Civil Services examination 2018. In this video, I will be talking about the Indian diaspora, the Indian diaspora. So let us first look at some interesting facts about it. The UN World Migration Report 2018 puts Indian diasporas world's largest with slightly more than 15.6 million Indians people from India living overseas and the total diaspora which includes both persons of Indian origin as well as NRIs is close to 30 million. So India has the biggest diaspora in the world. Recently Indian diaspora won elections, 10 seats in UK, 20 seats in Canada. So politically Indian diaspora is doing very well. It is also one of the richest diasporas in the world. Next is that during sanctions on India after the nuclear test, it was the Indian diaspora which funds into India through the resurgent India bonds which were introduced at that point of time. And it was the funds from the Indian diaspora that helped India during very tough times. And another interesting thing is that whenever we think of Indian diaspora, we tend to often think about rich businessmen living in US or UK. But most a major chunk of Indian diaspora is actually the workers, the labour which is working in West Asian countries. So UAE has 3.5 million Indian diaspora, Saudi Arabia has 1.9 million. So these are also an important aspect of diaspora of India. So now let us look at what are the major benefits that India has had because of its very vibrant diaspora. The first is economic benefits. Number one is remittances. One of the world's biggest receiver of remittances from abroad and it they really help us in our current account balance. Second is the source and inflow of foreign capital and investments in various industries like real estate, innovation, technology, manufacturing, etc. A healthy diaspora which contributes to the economy and development also improves the economic relations of that country with India. And that also leads to better trade relations with other countries which boost the Indian economy. Another point is that the diaspora is becoming increasingly prominent in other countries with high offices and this further helps in building economic linkages as they can also influence policy making in favour of India. The political benefits that India has because of its diaspora is that it is a huge source of nation branding and soft power. The Indian diaspora is present in so many countries in the African continent, US, UK, European countries even in South America and in all these countries they have created a good image for India. They have again as I said improved the, have been improving the soft power of India. They also play an important role in influencing the policies and politics of the host country. I mentioned that so many people are present in elected offices of many countries like UK, USA, Canada, etc. So these people also can help in making, in bringing policies that favour India and improving relations with India of that, of their host country. There are also many social benefits. Diaspora is a facilitator in the spread of indigenous culture and traditions. This also leads to growth of demand for Indian products, spices, services like Indian cultural heritage is like yoga which has become exceedingly popular abroad. This improves our soft power, it improves our relations with the country, it also improves, it creates demand for our goods and services and even within social I would also say that the diaspora contributes to global stability and interconnectedness. It helps in improving the multiculturalism in the society and again interconnectedness between the countries. Indian diaspora is also beneficial for the host country. Number one, they provide highly skilled manpower to the host countries. Many of the highly skilled people from India are working in big multinationals like Google, Facebook, Amazon, etc. and there they provide their services which is of great benefit to those companies. They boost the demand in the host economies and that is important for economic growth. They improve relations with other nations for the host economy. They contribute to multiculturalism in other countries and they also improve the cosmopolitan culture of a place. However, having said all of these things, there are also certain challenges for the Indian diaspora. The first one is instability in West Asia. Many times Indian government has had to rescue Indian diaspora from abroad in West Asian countries and with the Arab Spring and other developments in West Asia, the instability is currently present and that is a challenge for India to manage. Exploitation in West Asian countries is also a problem. There have been cases of forced labour, slavery and people have been told certain things about employment and they have not been given the same facilities that they were promised when they were recruited from India. So, all these practices of exploitation are also a major concern and for the welfare and human rights of Indians who are working in such countries. Another very major challenge which is also strengthening I think right now is the growing anti-immigrant sentiment. There have been cases of violence, of shooting against immigrants. There have been increasing racial violence, increasing sentiment of fear and distance from the immigrants and this also is a growing problem. Now because of globalization, there was a lot of increase in interconnectedness but there is also a reaction to globalization nowadays where countries are becoming more and more protectionist. It is becoming difficult for Indians to go abroad and Indians who are there are facing certain challenges because of their nationality. So, that is one point and I think last would be brain drain in terms of that highly skilled labour force of India is often taken away to USA or European countries because the salaries over there are very high. So, this is also one of the challenges that Indian diaspora or India is facing because of its diaspora. So, all in all Indian diaspora is very vibrant, very good for the country and it is contributing in its own way to the Indian growth story. To facilitate India's diaspora, the government celebrates Bhartya Divas and to connect with the diaspora. This year in 2019 it was celebrated in Varanasi. Many states have also started celebrating their own versions of Pravasi Bhartya Divas and this year the topic or the theme of the Pravasi Bhartya Divas was the role of Indian diaspora in building a new India. So, that itself highlights what the contribution of diaspora has been to India. Again overseas workers resource centre a 24-7 helpline has been introduced to help the workers overseas who have been stuck in any kind of problem. Indian external affairs ministry has been proactively engaging on social media with people who have been in trouble abroad and the late Sushma Swaraj was really known for her proactiveness in helping Indians who have been stuck abroad and government has also used digital media again to connect with people. The No India program is another initiative because it encourages people of Indian origin to come back to India in the sense of no India better to find to come back to their cultural roots and understand their roots. So, that is also a way in which the country is trying to connect with its diaspora. Overseas citizenship of India cards or OCI cards basically are also being given. They have much more benefits than the PIO card. So, that is also an initiative that has been taken to facilitate the Indian diaspora. So, that will be all about the diaspora and its contribution to India. Thank you.