Davos 2024: A day of India's investment drive (2024)

India at the summit

For India, it was a day of closing mega agreements, with Maharashtra, Telangana and Karnataka expecting trillions of dollars worth of investments. Reserve Bank of India governorShaktikanta Das drew attention to India’s growth story, while US secretary of state Antony Blinken patted India for ‘an extraordinary success story’.

Optimistic RBI chief

The Indian economy should record a growth rate of 7% in the next fiscal year and inflation is likely to ease further, RBI fovernor Shaktikanta Das said at a CII session in WEF. He said that amid a challenging global macroeconomic environment, India presented a picture of growth and stability. Das said he expects average CPI inflation next year to be at 4.5%, and that RBI is committed and confident of achieving its 4% target at the earliest.

India an extraordinary success story

Talking about how the US views India, US secretary of state Antony Blinken said, "We see an extraordinary success story and see the remarkable achievements that Prime Minister (Narendra) Modi has achieved under his watch that has materially benefitted and positively affected so many Indian lives."

Blinken added: “We also see the relationship between our two countries that has reached a new place and a new level, and that I think has been a very deliberate effort on part of both Prime Minister Modi and President Biden to position it so."

Adani for Telangana

Adani Group on Wednesday said it will invest over ₹12,400 crore in an array of projects, including a data centre, a clean energy project, and a cement plant in Telangana. The conglomerate signed four memoranda of understanding for investments in the presence of Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy and Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani at Davos.Reddy also met Nadir Godrej, chairman and managing director of Godrej Industries Ltd.

In total, Telangana has sealed MoUs worth over ₹36,500 crore in Davos. JSW Neo Energy said it would set up a pumped storage project in the state with an investment of ₹9,000 crore after a meeting Reddy had with JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal. Web Werks announced a ₹5,200 crore investment to establish data centres in Telangana, while Aragen Life Sciences announced plans to invest ₹2,000 crore on expanding its plant in the state.

Karnataka’s push

The Karnataka government during the WEF meeting has signed MoUs with investment proposals to the tune of ₹22,000 crore with seven companies. Web Werks proposes to set up a ₹20,000 crore data centre park in the state, while four other companies plan to invest a total of ₹2,000 crore. The Lulu Group is set to venture into food processing in Karnataka's Vijayapura district, with plans to invest ₹300 crore in a plant dedicated to exports.

Maharashtra claims ₹1.4 tn

Maharashtra has signed MoUs totalling ₹1.4 trillion on the sidelines of the WEF meeting, following Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's meetings with a number of business leaders.Shinde also held discussions with senior delegates from South Africa and met senior representatives from Schneider Electric and Louis Dreyfus, among others. The state has signed MoUs with global giants including Berkshire Hathaway and Greenko Energy Projects.Adani Group will invest ₹50,000 crore over the next 10 years in setting up a 1 GW data centre in Maharashtra.

Calls for a Palestinian state

US secretary of state Antony Blinken said Israel would not “get genuine security" without giving Palestine statehood. “The problem is getting from here to there, and, of course, it requires very difficult, challenging decisions. It requires a mindset that is open to that perspective," he said.

Phaseout fossil fuels

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for the world to take more united action against global warming. “Let me be very clear—the phaseout of fossil fuels is essential and inevitable," Guterres said at the Davos meeting. IMF chief Kristalina Georgieva said countries need to shift some $7 trillion in direct and indirect annual subsidies to help finance the fight against climate change.

Pope’s letter

Pope Francis urged business leaders at Davos to “be increasingly guided not simply by the pursuit of fair profit, but also by high ethical standards" because national governments cannot regulate the global economy for the common good. The pope sent a letter to Davos organizers saying wars worldwide show the need to tackle what he called the root causes of conflicts: economic injustices, hunger and exploitation of natural resources.

Shipping worries

The chief executives of two leading freight carriers said they expect Red Sea threats to disrupt shipping for weeks or months longer, extending delays and higher transport costs. “For us, this will mean longer transit times and probably disruption of supply chains for a few months at least," Vincent Clerc, chief executive of A.P. Moller-Maersk A/S, said.

DHL Group CEO Tobias Meyer said the rerouting of ships around southern Africa instead of the shortcut through the Suez Canal was leading to imbalances in container capacity. As a result, shortages might start to occur in about two weeks, hitting Asia in particular.

Women's health gap

The World Economic Forum launches global alliance for women's health, envisions $1 trillion annual economic boost by 2040. The report, titled ‘Closing the Women's Health Gap: A $1 trillion Opportunity to Improve Lives and Economies,’ outlines how addressing gender-specific health challenges could lead to a 1.7% increase in per capita GDP, contributing a staggering $1 trillion to the global economy annually by 2040.

The report underscores the correlation between better health and economic prosperity, with every $1 invested potentially unlocking $3 in economic growth.

JPMorgan’s optimism

Despite all the talk of job cuts on Wall Street, there’s one bank that’s not feeling the pain. JPMorgan President Daniel Pinto said the lender plans to add headcount as it sees opportunities to expand its presence in US wealth management, boost its international retail arm and exploit a deal-making revival.

“All the components are for a strong year," Pinto said in an interview with Bloomberg TV.

Meet Milei

Argentina’s President Javier Milei was in demand with more than 60 meeting requests. Milei took a commercial flight and posted an image of a lion’s head superimposed on his body with a backdrop of some snow-capped mountains on his Instagram. That gives a flavour of what to expect.

Milei praised free markets and slammed socialism at Davos during the first overseas tour for the self-proclaimed 'anarcho-capitalist'. "Socialism is a phenomenon that creates poverty," he said in a special address.

Meanwhile, an engine trouble

Meanwhile, Blinken was unable to fly home from Davos as scheduled on Wednesday due to a critical error with his aircraft. After flying from Davos on helicopters and boarding the modified Boeing 737, Blinken and his party were informed that the aircraft had been deemed unsafe to fly. An oxygen leak detected previously could not be remedied.

With inputs from agencies

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Published: 18 Jan 2024, 09:00 AM IST