Prime Minister Narendra Modi described NRIs as India's brand ambassadors and said they were the symbols of the country's capabilities. The prime minister was inaugurating the 15th Pravasi Bharatiya Diwas convention in his parliamentary constituency of Varanasi. For the first time, the three-day-long convention is being organised from January 21 to 23 instead of January 9 to allow participants to visit the Kumbh mela in Prayagraj and attend the Republic Day parade in the national capital. The theme of this year's convention is 'role of Indian diaspora in building new India'. The Prime Minister of Mauritius Pravind Jugnauth is the chief guest of the convention, while Himanshu Gulati, Member of Parliament of Norway, is the special guest.