Our pitch at Davos amid global flux: Reliable India is a safe bet

At a time when the world appears increasingly fragmented, anxious and unsure of its economic direction, India’s presence at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 in Davos carried a significance far beyond symbolism. As leaders and investors reshape supply chains for resilience and diversify trade links, they are directing capital allocations towards economies that offer stability, scale and policy predictability.

The mood this year was sombre at Davos, overshadowed by geopolitical tensions, trade fragmentation, the disruptive advance of artificial intelligence (AI) and a palpable fear that the rules-based global order is fraying. Amid all the uncertainty, India stood out as a stabilizing force and a shaper of the next phase of global growth.

Global interest has heightened in India’s economic trajectory, innovation ecosystem and governance capabilities. The Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) led a strategically-coordinated campaign to present India as a reliable, resilient and reform-driven economy, fully aligned with the gathering’s theme, ‘A Spirit of Dialogue.’ In a world marked by shrinking trust and rising unilateralism, dialogue anchored in credibility and delivery matters more than ever.

Amid the uncertainty, EU President Ursula von der Leyen’s speech provided a silver lining. She announced that soon after the event, she would be visiting India and that India and the EU were on the cusp of signing a historic trade agreement, one that would create a market for 2 billion people, accounting for almost a quarter of global gross domestic product.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney’s statement that middle powers such as Canada are not powerless in the evolving global order and have the capacity to help shape a new international framework rooted in shared values evoked a positive response.

Discussions at Davos centred on global trade patterns that have revealed a high dependence on a limited set of regions for several essential commodities, particularly agricultural food crops. Disruptions along key shipping corridors such as the Black Sea, Red Sea, Suez Canal and Southeast Asian maritime routes could, therefore, rapidly translate into scarcity and inflation.

The contrast between the global mood and India’s message could not be sharper. Broadly, Davos discussions reflected concerns over a crumbling world order, tensions between the US and its European allies, and anxieties around the impact of AI on jobs and productivity. Political overhangs have been unmistakable, with geopolitics looming over social-media interventions. Against this backdrop, India’s narrative was refreshingly grounded: it was focused on solutions, scale and execution.                               

India made a high-impact start at Davos with thought-provoking discussions on technology and AI, sustainability and civil aviation-related matters led by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union minister for electronics and information technology, railways and information and broadcasting, Pralhad Joshi, minister for new and renewable energy and consumer affairs, and Kinjarapu Rammohan Naidu, minister of civil aviation.

What emerged was heartening. India belongs firmly to the group of AI-ready nations, with steady progress across all five layers of AI architecture—applications, models, chips, infrastructure and energy. Crucially, India’s AI strategy prioritizes real-world deployment and return on investment rather than an exclusive obsession with ever-larger models. This pragmatic, value-driven approach holds resonance at a time when many economies are struggling to translate AI’s promise into broad-based productivity gains.

Sustainability is no longer a peripheral concern but a central driver of competitiveness, resilience and long-term growth. The defining question of this decade is not whether the world should transition, but how sustainability can be delivered at scale, with speed and in a manner that strengthens economies instead of weakening them. India’s experience in balancing growth, inclusion and climate responsibility offers lessons for others.

This year marked one of CII’s most substantive delegations to Davos, with over 100 participants spanning government, industry, startups, social enterprises and media, and more than 200 attendees overall. Three Union ministers led the Centre’s delegation, underscoring the seriousness with which India views this global platform.

States too were well represented. Six chief ministers, representing Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Jharkhand, participated to woo investors.

Underlying all these engagements is a consistent theme: of a Reliable India. India stands at the intersection of trust, scale and innovation. Trust, rooted in stable democratic institutions and predictable policymaking; scale, enabled by a vast market and deep talent pool; and innovation, driven by digital public infrastructure and a flourishing technology ecosystem. While India is projected to become the world’s third-largest national economy in a few years, sustained real GDP growth of 6–8% and nominal growth of 10–13%, supported by moderate inflation, positions it as one of the few major economies offering both stability and momentum.

At Davos, where nearly 3,000 participants from over 130 countries gathered to debate the future, India is no longer defined merely as an ‘emerging economy.’ It is becoming essential to the global economic order—poised to meet the world’s future needs of talent, innovation and knowledge. In a fractured world searching for anchors, India offers something increasingly rare—credibility backed by capability, ambition tempered by pragmatism and growth aligned with inclusion.

In uncertain times, the world does not just need dialogue, it needs dependable partners. At Davos 2026, India made a compelling case that it is ready to be one of them.

Note: This article was first published in mint