Kerala governor to open diaspora meet in Thiruvananthapuram today

T'PURAM: The third edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha will be inaugurated by governor Arif Mohammed Khan here on Thursday. The first edition of Loka Kerala Sabha was held in 2018, followed by the second in January 2020.
The third edition, being conducted after a gap of more than two years due to the Covid-19 pandemic, features 351 members including 169 people's representatives and 182 expats. In addition, there will also be invitees who do not have Indian citizenship and experts related to the subject of migration.
As per latest composition of Loka Kerala Sabha, there are representatives of at least 65 countries and 21 states in the third edition of the festival. Also, 20% of the representatives are women. As per the rules, one-third of the members will be replaced from the present edition after the event with a new set of expats.
The discussions in this edition of the Loka Kerala Sabha will be on the basis of an approach paper prepared by a team of experts. The subjects include formation of a new Kerala, future migration, rehabilitation of returnees, possibilities of cultural exchange, migration possibilities for women, issues faced by expat Keralites in other states and challenges faced by the expats abroad among others.
The public meeting to mark the beginning of the meet will be held on Thursday, followed by two-day subject-wise sessions to be held in the Assembly complex.
The Loka Kerala Sabha was conceived as a platform to foster cooperation between expats from the state in various other states and countries and to link all of them with an aim of development of the state in social, cultural and economic sectors. The budget for 2022 had earmarked Rs. 4 crore for the Loka Kerala Sabha meet. Speaker M B Rajesh said the meet is being conducted by reducing expenses and meeting them through sponsorships to the extent possible.