DAVOS: Prime Minister
Narendra Modi touched down in
Davos+
to court global investors at the annual gathering of businessmen, global leaders and civil society amid heavy snowfall in the Alpine resort.
The 24-hour trip by
Modi - the first by an Indian PM in 20 years - will begin in the next few hours with India hosting the welcome reception for international elite who gather here to discuss challenges confronting the global economy.
Read also: India toast of town at Davos, from billboards to platters
On Tuesday, the PM is scheduled to deliver the inaugural speech exactly a year after
Xi Jinping told the world about the benefits of globalisation, while US president and his supporters were chanting 'America First'. Modi is expected to make a strong statement even as his officials try to showcase "New India" and its growing potential given easier rules apart from being a large market.
With
chai-pakoda in sub-zero temperature to the India Lounge+
, which has been rechristened many times in the past few years, the government is trying to make an impact with its sales pitch. The only thing that looked a little out of place were two yoga instructors, who flew in wearing a dhoti with a chaadar wrapped around. Not only did the white attire in a matching background draw eyeballs but even prompted an Indian-origin professor to advise one of them change their outfit.
Apart from soft power, there is also a battery of Indian corporate chiefs including Tata Group chairman N Chandrashekhar, ICICI Bank's Chanda Kochhar and Wipro's Azim Premji. Reliance Group chairman Mukesh Ambani too is listed as part of the Indian contingent which is estimated to have crossed the century mark.
With Indian business getting a global footprint, attendance has increased over the years from the times when handful of CEOs led by Rahul Bajaj, seen as a member of the Bombay Club that advocated pro-swadeshi policies, came to the weekly gathering ahead of the ski season.
While several requests for bilateral meetings from global CEOs were received by Modi's office, the PM has opted to meet corporate chiefs in groups, starting on Monday evening. He is scheduled to hold another consultation on Tuesday with Indian officials armed with dockets listing out hurdles that have been removed as well as sheets that give reasons for some of the concerns raised by CEOs in the past not being addressed.
