DAVOS: ‘No better time to be an Indian’, Adani Group chairman Gautam Adani summed up as he left Davos after participating in the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) 2024.
In a long LinkedIn post penning his experience during his stay in Davos and the interactions he had with global executives and thought leaders, Gautam Adani concluded that India’s message and the actions it has taken resonate with the spirit of multilateralism and inclusiveness.
The World Economic Forum’s annual meeting took place in Davos from January 15-19, 2024. Union Ministers Hardeep Puri, Smriti Irani, and Ashwini Vaishnaw represented India in the Forum.
At the 54th World Economic Forum annual meeting, global leaders met to rebuild trust, generate new ideas and create partnerships to advance solutions to the challenges the world faces.
“This was the Davos where my fellow countrymen in attendance would have left with their heads a little higher than usual. No better time to be an Indian!” he wrote on his LinkedIn timeline.
After all the deliberations he had with various leaders at Davos, Gautam Adani feels that the consensus was that India is well on its way to approaching the $30 trillion GDP target by 2050. The potential for even higher growth, given its young workforce, was, however, not ruled out.
“As expected, every discussion also touched upon the advent of technologies like AI and the possibility of this adding further momentum to India’s growth. One of the discussions was around the exciting potential of India becoming the AI ‘back office’ of the world, something to watch for,” he wrote.
However, the most impactful theme that emerged during the discussion was India’s “dramatic social transformation” over the past decade. India, he said, is increasingly seen as filling the social leadership vacuum globally.
“One corporate leader spent most of our conversation eager to learn about the direct benefit transfer platform, enabled by the integration of Aadhaar, the national ID system programme, mobile phone access, and an astounding 500 million bank accounts. This system has not only increased government liquidity but has also empowered millions of Indians in the remotest areas to trust the system and receive benefits without middleman interference”, he wrote.
The Unified Payment Platform (UPI), launched by the government less than a decade ago, has expanded, with several overseas markets now accepting UPI payments. Given the focus on sustainability and its role in building trust among nations, the Solar Alliance platform, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015, Gautam Adani said it was also a key topic in many of his discussions.
“The goal to mobilize one trillion dollars in investments for solar energy solutions by 2030, aiming to provide clean energy access to one billion people through the installation of 1,000 GW of solar energy capacity, once seemed overly ambitious. Now, with the massive focus on sustainability and the success of COP 28, it appears more achievable than ever. What started as a 16-member initiative is now a 117-member force”, the LinkedIn post read. (ANI)