India courts global investors at Davos with AI-led growth message

India is gearing up for a high-profile presence at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in the Alpine resort town Davos, as global leaders convene for five days from Monday.

The underlying message of the India Pavilion on the main promenade of Davos, which also houses pavilions for various states, is also being broadcast loud and clear by industry partners.

India’s delegation will include four Union ministers, six chief ministers and more than 100 business leaders, with senior executives from Reliance Industries, Tata Group, Bajaj Group, Mahindra Group, Infosys, Wipro, Paytm and Zerodha among those expected. Indian leaders are also set to participate in multiple panel discussions, including one on whether India can become the world’s third-largest economy.

The apex industry chamber CII, in its pavilion, has a similar message: Partner India Inc, subscribe to a reliable future.

As the city gets ready for the five-day talkfest starting Monday, several IT majors from India have also decked up their own pavilions and lounges, and the common theme for them is AI.

Wipro and TCS have their lounges facing each other on the opposite sides of the promenade, while Infosys, HCL Tech and Tech Mahindra are not far off.

Wipro is pitching for AI and beyond, while TCS says it is embedding AI in every service it delivers.

Over 100 Indian CEOs are in the town, along with a large government delegation.

There are pavilions of various state governments as well, including Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Kerala and Telangana.

Senior Union ministers, including Ashwini Vaishnaw, Pralhad Joshi and K Rammohan Naidu, are expected to participate and also hold bilateral meetings, while chief ministers such as Devendra Fadnavis, N Chandra Babu Naidu, Mohan Yadav, Hemant Soren and Himanta Biswa Sarma, will showcase their respective states for prospective investors.

Though US President Donald Trump is the talk of the town as the biggest star for the meeting, India is also generating a lot of interest.

Overall, more than 3,000 global leaders are attending the 56th annual meeting in Davos.

According to WEF, at least 64 heads of state or government will attend, with six of the seven G7 countries represented at the top level. Major delegations from China, Pakistan and Ukraine will also be present, alongside leaders from Europe, Latin America, Asia and Africa.