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Every year, Davos hosts the annual World Economic Forum Summit where the world’s most sought after leaders gather to revisit their respective agendas. A significant number of these leaders are of Indian origin. They come from all corners of the world, rub shoulders with the most powerful individuals and the best brains on the planet. It is a matter of pride and accomplishment and the moment of truth. But is it just a celebration of India arriving at the global stage, a jamboree of the rich and the powerful or something more?
There has been a lot of hue and cry about India overstating and probably over-spending its efforts in promoting what was called the “India Adda” at Davos this year. Some likened it to the much-maligned ‘India Shining’ campaign that fell on its face and triggered the collapse of the BJP-led NDA government.
Of the 2,500 global leaders attending the Davos Summit this year, 130 were from India. They came to the snow-capped Swiss resort to discuss the future of the world economy. The delegation included Home Minister P Chidambaram, Commerce & Industry Minister Anand Sharma, Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath, Heavy Industries Minister Praful Patel and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Dr. Montek Singh Ahluwalia and Chairman of the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDA) Nandan Nilekani. Several other captains of industry such as Reliance Chairman Mukesh Ambani and Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises were also in attendance.
They went hammer and tongs, lending an Indian perspective to global issues ranging from climate change, innovation, science and technology, employment, inclusive growth and good governance. Yet, despite the euphoria, the Indian delegation faced tough questions on the corruption and governance deficit in the country. India’s foreign direct investment (FDI) is already down by a whopping 36 percent in 2010 from 2009. The horror stories of Commonwealth games and an infamous telecom scandal have raised questions on India as an attractive investment destination.
There was a time when policymakers and corporate and financial leaders from India considered it a privilege to engage in brainstorming activities at Davos. But critics have started to ask whether India has enough stakes at the WEF to necessitate such a sizeable presence. The skepticism has grown to an extent that even Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee chose to stay away from the global annual conference and instead said that he was more interested in going to the G-20 Finance Ministers’ meeting in Paris next month.
Did it matter at the end? Was the minister’s absence felt at Davos? Did that dilute the Indian flavor at the event? Arguments run both in its favor and against. Several senior government officials say that Davos is an opportunity for global networking for a few top Indians. “Of course it also gives a good boost to tourism for Davos. But it is basically a forum for Indian business and thought leaders to meet and interact with eminent personalities of the world and nothing beyond this,” said Harsh Pati Singhania, MD JK Paper Ltd and Director JK Organization.
Others say that it is a forum to try and understand how much the outside world knows about India. P Chidambaram – who has been rather well-received at Davos for articulating opportunities in India – addressed a special session on ‘The reality of terrorism’ this time. As a key partner of WEF, the Confederation of Indian Industries organized its traditional annual “India Reception” and breakfast sessions in collaboration with Indian companies. Several other giants of Indian industry such as Wipro, Mahindra Satyam, Bajaj Auto and Infosys organized sessions, receptions and an evening with Bollywood beauties besides serving spicy Indian curry.
However, for people such as Singhania, its importance lies in being a platform to project and promote India’s image and profile building as a preferred investment destination. Developed economies are looking at the rapid growth of India and China with admiration as their own long-term recovery depends on them.
Then there are differences of perception as far as the two Asian giants are concerned. On several fronts, the South Asian country has an edge over China. “I doubt China will be an economic leader because they are unable to innovate,” said Xavier Salas I Martin, Professor of Economics at Columbia University. “China reminds me of what happened to Japan and never materialized, because economic growth is driven by innovation and Japan has never had an innovative system like Silicon Valley,” said Salas-i-Martin. He added that “China is still poor and (still) has to grow much and much copied.”
“I bet on India, a system based on the creativity of the people. Silicon Valley is full of Indians,” he said. India has a population of 1,200 million people and a per capita income of $31 billion. In the coming years China will face a demographic change that will trigger a slowdown in growth in the workforce and will push to maintain a high growth rate, according to the chief China economist at UBS, Wang Tao.
Despite efforts to treat the world with the cocktail of samosas and Bollywood, investors need stronger policies on ground that can safeguard their investments. The Indian Adda largely failed to produce that. Hopefully, it will have more to offer than just Deepika Padukone. 
Amna E. Khaishgi is a media analyst who covers technology and communication trends in South Asia and the Emirates. She is based in Dubai and works as a documentary filmmaker.
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