Pravasi Bharatiya Divas: Odia NRI from US provides jobs to 200 Odisha youths, shares success story

Pravasi Bharatiya Divas kickstarted in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday and witnessed a heartwarming moment after one Dhirendra Kar, an accomplished Odia entrepreneur based in the United States, returned to the state capital to attend the prestigious event and shared how he was forced to leave his homeland in search of better opportunities.

Originally from Gholapur village in Jajpur district, Kar left Odisha decades ago. After 27 years of residing in the USA, he has not only achieved success abroad but has also made it his mission to uplift the youth of his home state. 

Narrating his journey, Kar shared how he provided employment opportunities to over 200 Odia youths, transforming their lives and contributing to the state's development.

Sharing his feelings of immense pride and joy, Kar recounted his days from the early ‘90s stating that he had to take a difficult decision to part with the state owing to a lack of job opportunities back then. However, after finding employment in the US as an IT professional, he changed the tide by establishing a company of his own where he now employs over 200 youths from Odisha.

“It is a matter of immense pride for me that I have been able to provide employment to over 200 youths and contribute toward the development of my motherland,” he stated.

Along the lines, he also highlighted that despite the rapid economic and infrastructural development of Odisha, especially Bhubaneswar, government support is extremely important in order to compete on the global stage.

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He lashed out at the previous Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government and stated that there was not enough appreciation and initiative back then to promote the growth of industries, especially the IT sector.

“In the last 20 years, we have not received the kind of support and appreciation. Hundreds of people were provided land under Naveen Patnaik’s leadership but none of them have gone on to establish large companies,” he lamented.

However, he expressed his gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for organising events such as the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas and promoting inclusiveness of the Indian diaspora toward helping in the economic growth of the country.

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Incidentally, Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Majhi and Indian Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar inaugurated the 18th Pravasi Bharatiya Divas Sammelan at Janata Maidan today morning. The mega-event will last until January 10 and is expected to witness more than 4,000 visitors from the overseas Indian community.