WEF president hails India’s efforts with Amitabh Kant saying radical reforms to continue

May 25,2022

WEF president hails India’s efforts with Amitabh Kant saying radical reforms to continue

World Economic Forum’s President Borge Brene, in his beginning remarks, painted a very encouraging picture of India, saying the largest democracy of the globe looks better placed to fight the burgeoning new challenges with expected economic growth rate of 8% in the current financial year, while a number of other countries appear to be struggling amid myriad of challenges encircling them. However, he did mention that owing to Covid-19 and geo-political uncertainties, poverty and food security related challenges are engulfing several parts of the world.

Organised at the Swiss ski resort town of Davos, the purpose of WEF’s annual meeting is to bring the world’s powerful decision-makers together on a regular basis to discuss the pressing problems of the world and consider how best they can be addressed with all wherewithals.

Amitabh Kant, the CEO of the Niti Aayog, in a session on unleashing the power of the Indian Diaspora on the sidelines of the summit, said that a slew of reform measures taken by the Indian Government in the recent years, have put India on a growth trajectory, that would continue for several decades to come.

Kant, in his address, focused on the digital transformation that India has embarked on with the Modi government coming in power, adding that a strong political leadership and the commitment to continue with radical reforms would pave the way for the country being in the leadership role in the global economy.

Kant also specifically named the startup India movement, which has created a conducive environment for the startups which now count in tens of thousands in the country with an emergence of more than 100 unicorns on the horizon. Calling upon the global investors to join the India growth story, he said India’s time has come.

Around 50 heads of government or state are attending the annual meeting. The annual meeting of 2021 could not take place physically, while the 2022 had to be postponed due to the Covid pandemic.
Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Consumer Affairs & Food & Public Distribution and Textiles is leading the team India at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos from 23-25 May 2022. The Indian Government delegation also include Mansukhlal Mandaviya, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chemicals & Fertilizers, Hardeep Singh Puri- Minister for Petroleum & Natural Gas, Housing & Urban Affairs besides Chief Ministers and senior ministers of six states- Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana along with senior officials.

A number of senior industry leaders including Hari S. Bhartiya, Amit Kalyani, Rajan Bharti Mittal, Ronnie Screwvala, Salil S. Parekh are also be participating in the WEF deliberations along with a number of journalists.

This event would further help reinforce India’s position as an important and relevant stakeholder in shaping the global narrative, particularly as India assumes presidency of the G-20 in 2023. The WEF is also a platform to project India as an attractive investment destination in view of its robust economic growth and stable macroeconomic indicators.

This year coincides with the World Economic Forum’s 50th anniversary and 35 years of the Forum’s collaboration with India which provides an opportunity for India to showcase its unified presence including the centre and states. To mark 75 years of Independence and ‘Azaadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’, DPIIT has taken the initiative to have a consolidated marquee India presence at World Economic Forum, Davos.

In line with the Government of India’s priorities, sessions are being organised at the India Lounge keeping in mind India’s strategic advantage, existing and upcoming incentive architecture, industry investment potential and market opportunity. The key topics that being addressed during the sessions include policy and ease of doing business reforms, energy transition, digital economy, opportunities in National Monetization Pipeline, India as an entrepreneurial destination shaping the unicorn story, growing talents in the digital space, emphasis on innovation and research in the healthcare ecosystem.