The Indian Embassy in Bangkok on Saturday hosted 80 people for a two-in-one celebration, combining "Pravasi Bharatiya Divas" and "Vishva Hindi Divas" (World Hindi Day).
The events were combined to help observe Covid 19 curbs, organisers said.
"Pravasi Bharatiya Divas is celebrated on Jan 9th every year. It is to commemorate the good work and the contribution of non–resident Indians to their local Indian community the broader development of India. Jan 9 was chosen because it marked the return of Mahatma Gandhi from his stay in South Africa in 1915 and he worked for the Independence Movement after he arrived India," Ambassador Suchitra Durai said.
"This was a big celebration in India," she added. "The Chief Guests, which is non-resident Indians who are prominent figures and have helped develop the Indian community from many parts of the world, are invited each year.
"We recognise those who have done well across the globe with the "Pravasi Bharatiya Samman" awards [Good Overseas Indians Awards]," she said.
"We consider diaspora as part of India's strength," she said. "Of course, they have their own nationalities. They have their own interests and political affiliations but because of the values, because of the bonds, which are very strong. ...We like to keep in touch and we like to honour them for their contribution."
Vashdev Tikamdas Purswani, a member of the Indian diaspora from Thailand, won the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman (Overseas Indian Award) this year in the Business category. Mr Purswani established Indo-Thai Synthetic Limited, the first ever Indo-Thai joint venture project.
At the event were previous Pravasi Bharatiya Samman award recipients Deepak Mittal (2010), Susheel Saraff (2017) and Subhash Bajaj who represented his father Shivnath Rai Bajaj. who was granted the award in 2006.
World Hindi Day was also celebrated on Saturday to help scale down the celebration. "It is held to promote the use of the Hindi language across the globe," she said. A Hindi poem was recited at the event and Hindi dance performed by Thai students who study the Hindi language.
In Thailand, the celebrations were kept low-key. Across the world, including in India, the events were celebrated in a virtual manner.
"Normally the awardees are invited to India and sometimes they celebrate from city to city. There are many cultural components and seminars throughout the week. But this year, almost everything is online," she said.
The programme in Thailand was initially split into two but later was shortened to one in order to synchronise with what was organised in Delhi.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic and pandemic control measures, social distancing was observed and alcohol gel provided. Masks had to be worn at times. "We want to respect Thai regulations and at the same time, we want to commemorate special occasion," she added.