World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting 2022 showcased India in great strength – with the largest presence on the promenade. There was a Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) lounge on one side and the six-state lounges of Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana on the other.
The Indian Ministerial delegation comprised Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs and Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Government of India, Mansukhlal Mandaviya, Minister of Health and Family Welfare, Chemicals and Fertilisers, and Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing and Urban Affairs. The Government delegation also included Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, Amitabh Kant, Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Niti Aayog, Rajendra Ratnoo, Joint Secretary (JS), DPIIT and Deepak Bagla, Managing Director (MD) and CEO Invest India.
The delegation participated in multiple WEF sessions during the event. Minister Goyal participated in WEF sessions on Future of Industrial Transformations, First Movers Coalition Leaders Meeting, 2030 Industrial Development Agenda, Strategic Outlook on India and multiple sessions on Trade and Investment. He further chaired a closed-door 'Global Investor's Roundtable' at the India Lounge to discuss India's investment potential and the support sought from the government to help them take their investments forward. He also chaired a session on 'India Infrastructure Asset Monetisation: An $ 80 Bn Opportunity' to discuss the asset monetisation opportunity for funds to take advantage of in India. These sessions would be coupled with multiple bilateral meetings with Minister from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Indonesia, United States of America (USA), Denmark, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Netherlands, Switzerland, European Union (EU) Commission and one – on – one meetings with potential investors.
Minister Puri participated in WEF sessions on Energy Outlook, Strategic Outlook on India, Joint Governors Policy Meeting on Energy Demand and Informal Gathering of World Economic Leaders (IGWEL) on Achieving Energy Security. He further held multiple bi laterals with counterpart Ministers from other countries and one-on-one meetings with potential investors.
Minister Mandaviya participated in WEF sessions on Closing the Vaccine Gap, Unlocking the Power of Heath Data and Redefining Food Systems with Emerging Technologies. This was coupled with one–on–one meetings with potential investors and key individuals contributing to the health ecosystem.
Anurag Jain, Secretary, DPIIT, was simultaneously engaged in sessions on Green Public Procurement and Joint Governors Policy Meeting on Net Zero Infrastructure. In addition to this, he also chaired sessions at the India Lounge on:
- Transforming India's Energy Ambitions to Action
- Realising India's Digital Economy
- Building Unicorns in India
He also held multiple one-on-one meetings with investors who had significant investments in India and new potential investors looking to expand to the Indian market.
Deepak Bagla, MD and CEO, Invest India, was engaged in multiple sessions on Driving Investments in collaboration with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and Digitalisation in Collaboration withThe National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM). He was also a panellist in multiple sessions on startups, unicorns and sustainability. He simultaneously also held 1-1 interactions with multiple investors and key influencers in the global investor world.
Lounge also had many attractions for investors and other visitors in Indian snacks and giveaways showcasing India's strengths in One District One Product (ODOP), and Geographical Indications (GI) tagged products. These giveaways were a key highlight for the visitors in Lounge, who appreciated the products. This helped build a strong awareness of the ODOP and GI products globally.
