The 53rd World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2023 centered on the overarching theme, “Cooperation in a Fragmented World”. Over 2,700 leaders across 130 countries participated in the forum which included 47 Heads of State/Government and 1500 business leaders- the biggest global audience in the history of the annual meeting across media platforms.
The Indian Ministerial delegation comprised 4 Union Ministers- Mrs. Smriti Zubin Irani, Minister of Women and Child Development and Minority Affairs, Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology, Government of India, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya, Minister of Health & Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilizers and Mr. R.K Singh, Minister of Power and New and Renewable Energy, Government of India. The Government delegation also included Mr. Parameswaran Iyer, CEO, NITI Aayog, Mr. Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, Mr. Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO, Invest India, and senior officials from respective line ministries.
India’s presence at Davos aimed at solidifying its position as a strong and resilient economy, acting as a problem solver at the global stage. In celebration of India's 75 years of independence, 'Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav', and the assumption of India’s G20 presidency, India amplified its presence at Davos this year by taking up three dedicated lounges to showcase India’s investment opportunity, infrastructural landscape, inclusive and sustainable growth story.
The lounges focused on physical and digital showcases of key manufacturing sectors, start-ups, India’s G20 presidency and India’s focus on infrastructure, virtual presence of smaller enterprises and artisans, key pillars of sustainability and India’s climate goals using immersive technologies such as Augmented and Virtual Reality models. To showcase India’s soft power, authentic Indian One District One Product souvenirs and Indian food were served to make the world familiar with India’s culture.
In line with the Government of India’s priorities, the India Lounge organized 14 sessions- (7 roundtables & 7 panels) on India’s growth wave, energy transition, infrastructure landscape, rising digitalization, fintech, healthcare, electronic & semiconductor supply chain and start-up ecosystem.
6 fireside chats focusing on the LiFE Mission, circular economy and other themes in sustainability were a regular feature of the sustainability lounge.
This event also marked the launch of the India-Switzerland Startup Bridge to act as a one stop platform for knowledge exchange and market access opportunities between the startup ecosystems of both sides.
An India Factbook encapsulating India’s economic resilience across key pillars of growth was prepared and widely circulated.
The presence of State lounges of Governments of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Telangana and business lounges of HCL, Wipro, Infosys and TCS further added to the strength of India’s presence on the Davos promenade. The entire India contingent of the Centre, States, businesses, and start-ups put together a common front to present India on the global stage.
