Low Indian buzz at Davos as bigwigs stay away
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi not scheduled to attend and senior ministers such as Arun Jaitley, Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan and Suresh Prabhu opting out, the Indian government’s presence at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos is at its lowest in four years.
Modi addressed the opening session of the WEF in 2018, becoming the first Indian premier in two decades to join the world’s top business leaders in the Swiss resort town.
This year, there are fewer hoardings promoting India, and industry representation, too, is marginally down.
“While government – Centre and state, ministers and officials – representation [fell] from 14 in 2018 to six this year, industry participation remained high at 90, compared to 99 in 2018,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, director general of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).
“There are several states participating, with Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Punjab and Maharashtra represented here, and 45 speaking roles for Indian participants in the public programme,” he said. The buzz, however, seems to be missing.
A CII executive in New Delhi, who asked not to be named, said there was also a decline in government participation because WEF clashed with important national events, including the Pravasi Bharatiya Divas in Varanasi on January 22, in a general election year.
YEAR AFTER MODI
ADDRESSED OPENING SESSION, LOWER TURNOUT OF INDIAN GOVT AND INDUSTRY AT ANNUAL SUMMIT
He said commerce secretary Anup Wadhawan travelled to Davos late on Tues- day.
Other senior government officials at the event include Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath.
Punjab finance minister Manpreet Singh Badal and NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant too are attending the WEF.
Last year, the Indian delegation included finance minister Arun Jaitley, railways minister Piyush Goyal, commerce minister Suresh Prabhu, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, then minister of state for external affairs MJ Akbar, and minister of state for development of north-eastern region of India, Jitendra Singh, among other senior officials.
Gautam Adani, chairman of Adani Group India, said this year marked his second participation at WEF. “I was here last year for the first time. This year I’m here for two days and have several meetings lined up,” he said.
Most top industry heads who attended WEF last year have also gone this time. Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani, Tata chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran, Mahindra Group chief Anand Mahindra, Wipro chairman Azim Premji and son Rishad, and Essar Group vice-chairman Ravikant Ruia are among top industry captains who are here second time in a row.
The Indian Adda, the hangout for Indian participants and Indophiles, was conspicuous by its absence for the first time since it began in 2011 as part of the India Inclusive campaign. Instead, the government’s Invest India lounge and the joint CII-Telangana Lounge became the hub for business meetings focused on India.
But global interest in India remains high, industrialists said. “The record delegates may be higher from China but everyone’s attention and certainty factor, which is the way of doing business, in India is far higher. China’s regulation and business environment is really not conducive,” said Adar C Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, which manufactures at least 50% of the world’s vaccines.
“Just because Indian politicians and heads of [government] haven’t arrived, I don’t think it will make a difference. They are focusing on elections and the work back home. If they were here, they would be criticised for making trips abroad and not focusing on the country,” he added.