Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has strongly pitched for India to host a Davos-style global economic summit, proposing an “Autumn Davos” that would bring the world’s top business leaders, policymakers, and investors to the country. Speaking on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum (WEF), Vaishnaw said the idea reflects growing global recognition of India’s economic strength, reform-driven growth, and expanding investment opportunities.
Highlighting that India is currently the fastest-growing major economy, the minister pointed to stable inflation, a strong macroeconomic framework, and sustained investor confidence as key factors supporting the proposal. He noted that while several Indian states host high-profile investor summits—such as Vibrant Gujarat, Bengal Global Business Summit, and the Uttar Pradesh Investors Summit—India lacks a single, unified annual global business forum comparable to Davos.
Vaishnaw credited the Narendra Modi government’s reforms, including the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) and the opening up of strategic sectors such as nuclear energy, for driving strong investment momentum. He also underscored India’s rising global economic stature, noting that the country became the world’s fourth-largest economy in 2025, overtaking Japan, and now trails only the US, China, and Germany. The International Monetary Fund has also raised India’s GDP growth forecast for 2025–26 to 7.3%, further reinforcing the country’s growth story.
The minister’s remarks come amid global trade uncertainties and supply-chain realignments, as India positions itself as a key investment destination. On artificial intelligence, Vaishnaw pushed back against global assessments that place India in a secondary tier, asserting that the country is making strong progress across all five layers of the AI ecosystem—applications, models, chips, infrastructure, and energy. He maintained that India is firmly among the world’s leading AI players and is set to emerge as one of the largest global providers of AI-driven services.
