Bhubaneswar: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the 18th Pravasi Bhartiya Divas convention in Bhubaneswar of Odisha, informed the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) on Wednesday. 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 PMO said in a press release. The 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Convention is being organized in partnership with the State Government of Odisha from 8th to 10th January 2025 in Bhubaneswar, it added. 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. Prime Minister will remotely 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 would 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. Meanwhile, preparations for the mega event have reached their final stages.