In what may be termed as a first in two decades was the presence of an Indian Prime Minister to attend the World Economic Forum being held from January 21-24. The last PM to attend the forum was HD Deve Gowda. Through the years Davos has paved way for businesses, governments and global leaders to assemble and draw the roadmap to tackle global issues and challenges.
Making his presence felt was Mr Modi joining hands with the top leaders of the world in the Swiss town of Davos. Modi has never left a stone unturned when it comes to placing India on the global map. In an address at the opening session of the WEF he projected India as a favourable investment destination. Further attention was drawn to three global threats that need our collective and immediate attention- climate change, terrorism, and increased self-centeredness. PM Modi’s mantra at Davos was “India Means Business.”
Prime Minister Modi had earlier expressed interest in wisely using the platform at Davos. His talk with Swiss President Alain Berset on reviewing the scope of bilateral talks, the narration of India’s growth story and presence of excellent opportunities speaks of how he took to his advantage the global stage.
On reaching Davos, held talks with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Mr. @alain_berset. We reviewed the scope of our bilateral cooperation and discussed ways to deepen it even further. pic.twitter.com/aPOXnHrajt
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) January 22, 2018
Here are a few more updates from his talk at Davos-
- India has always believed in values of integration and unity, ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’which means the entire world is one family
- In 1997, India’s GDP was $400 billion, but after two decades now it is 6 times.
- The big threat ahead of the world is an artificial creation of a good and bad terrorist.
- WEF is creating a shared community in the fractured world.
- Technology is assuming immense importance in this era
- Democracy, demography and dynamism are shaping our destiny today.
- In India, we are removing red tape and laying the red carpet for investors.
- We in India are proud of our democracy and diversity.
- Democracy is not a political system in India, it is a way of life.
- Innovation and entrepreneurship is making young Indians job givers, not job seekers, says PM Modi
- We should all work together, we should build a heaven of world: PM Modi
Today, 3:45 PM onwards the Opening Plenary of the @wef commences. PM @narendramodi will address the plenary. You can watch the address live here. https://t.co/vbG9VG4Eqq #IndiaMeansBusiness
— PMO India (@PMOIndia) January 23, 2018
Mr Modi’s speech earned positive responses from various corners. IMF Chief Christine Lagarde said, “He clearly showcased India in a big way.” Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu termed it a historic day for India. Mr Naidu further said, “PM gave a very good message to the global community especially on geopolitics, terrorism and environmental issues.”
Statistically, it has been a mix of high and lows for India. An Oxfam survey revealed the income disparity in India where the richest 1% cornered 73% of wealth generated. In the Inclusive Development Index India stood at 62nd place, China at 26th and Pakistan at 47th. On the contrary, an IMF report slated India’s growth rate at 7.4 percent in 2018 against China’s 6.8 percent. This has evidently made it the fastest growing country among emerging economies. Surprisingly the results do not resonate with the slowdown following demonetization and the implementation of the GST. A World Economic Outlook update from the International Monetary Fund has projected a 7.8 percent growth rate for India in 2019.
Interestingly this forum is of importance to India as for the first time it has over 130 participants, the largest ever. With 100 CEOs from India including Mukesh Ambani, N Chandrasekaran, Rahul Bajaj, Azim Premji, Sunil Mittal, Sajjan Jindal, Gautam Adani, Anand Mahindra, Baba Kalyani, Pawan Munjal, Hari Bhartia, Uday Kotak and Chanda Kochhar, this is unarguably a big delegation from India. With Indian food, Yoga, India’s role in the world economy, and Modi’s oratory combined, this is the best promotion that Mr Modi could have done to show the New India to the world.