India and Indian states hog limelight ahead of WEF meet

Davos: India's 'unity in diversity' will be in full display when the rich and powerful from across the world assemble here for five days beginning Monday for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025.

India is sending its biggest-ever contingent this time, comprising five union ministers, three chief ministers and ministers from several other states alongside nearly 100 CEOs and other leaders including from the government, civil society and fields of art and culture.

"In the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is a lot of interest in understanding our thought process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policy, digital transformation and the way India has created a new digital architecture under the Digital India programme," Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said before leaving for Davos as head of the Indian delegation.

"There will be a detailed discussion in the WEF Annual Meeting World Economic Forum about inclusive growth, investment in social, physical and digital infrastructure and democratising technology," he said.

Vaishnaw will be joined by his four colleagues from the council of ministers at the Centre -- CR Patil, Chirag Paswan, Jayant Chaudhary and K Ram Mohan Naidu.

They would also be joined by chief ministers of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -- Devendra Fadnavis, N Chandra Babu Naidu and A Revant Reddy, respectively.

Besides, there would be senior ministers from several other states, including Karnataka's Deputy CM D K Shivakumar and Tamil Nadu's TRB Rajaa, Kerala's P Rajeeve. Uttar Pradesh will also have a presence and leaders here are already talking about Mahakumbh being held right now in Prayagraj.

The Maharashtra government has set a target of signing Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) worth Rs 7 lakh crore at the WEF Annual Meeting, while Telangana CM Reddy along with his cabinet colleague D Sridhar Babu and senior officials are looking for their own share of investments.

So are Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and other states participating in the meeting. Along with them, the union government will also showcase India as an overall investment destination through its ministers and top officials.

Ahead of the meeting, a survey of chief economists from across the world said they expect weaker global economic conditions in 2025 but India is likely to maintain strong growth despite signs of some momentum being lost.

In its latest Chief Economists Outlook, the World Economic Forum said the global economy is set to face significant challenges in 2025, with 56 per cent of chief economists surveyed expecting conditions to weaken.

Only 17 per cent foresee an improvement, pointing to heightened uncertainty in key regions and the need for measured policy responses worldwide, it found.

The US economy is expected to deliver robust growth in 2025, and South Asia, particularly India, is also expected to maintain strong growth.

The meeting will also see a lot of discussions over economic, geopolitical and environmental risks the world faces.

State-based armed conflict has emerged as the top immediate risk for 2025, reflecting heightened geopolitical tensions and fragmentation globally, according to the WEF.

Misinformation and disinformation lead to short-term risks, while environmental risks dominate the 10-year horizon, led by extreme weather events, biodiversity loss and ecosystem collapse, the WEF said in its latest Global Risks Report.

On the global political outlook over the next decade, the report said most global leaders expect a multipolar or fragmented order, where the Western-led global order is expected to continue its decline and alternative power centres are likely to strengthen in the form of China, India and the Gulf states.

US President-elect Donald Trump, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy will be among 60 top political leaders from across the world, including Germany, Switzerland, South Africa and Israel, who will address the WEF meeting.

The meeting would see participation by nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders.

With the global economy undergoing a paradigm shift, the five-day meeting beginning January 20 will explore how to re-launch growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, the WEF has said.

"Davos is unique in bringing together close to 3,000 decision makers from governments, business, and civil society at the beginning of the year to address the challenges of a world in deep transformation," WEF Founder and Chairman Klaus Schwab said.

"Despite divergent positions and great uncertainties, the Annual Meeting 2025 will foster a spirit of cooperation and constructive optimism with the objective of shaping the forthcoming Intelligent Age in a more sustainable and inclusive way," he added.

Among top political leaders, Trump will join via live video link for an interactive dialogue with participants, while those present in-person would include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, China's Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Argentina President Javier Milei, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola, South Africa President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa, and Spain President Pedro Sanchez.

Swiss President Karin Keller-Sutter, Bangladesh Government's Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus, Iraq President Abdulatif Rashid, Israel President Isaac Herzog, Malaysia President Anwar Ibrahim, Palestinian National Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa, Singapore President Tharman Shanmugaratnam, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and Viet Nam PM Pham Minh Chinh will also be there.

Heads of international organisations taking part would include World Trade Organization's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, IMF's Kristalina Georgieva, NATO's Mark Rutte, WHO's Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, and UNDP's Achim Steiner.

Over 1,600 business leaders, including more than 900 of the world's top CEOs, will also participate, along with over 120 Global Innovators, Tech Pioneers and Unicorns who are transforming industries.

More than 170 leaders from civil society and the social sector -- from labour unions, non-governmental organisations, religious and indigenous communities, as well as experts and heads of the world's leading universities, research institutions and think tanks -- will participate in the meeting.

The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum will convene under the theme, Collaboration for the Intelligent Age.