The Hindu Business Line : India to be showcased at Davos meet

THE CII has formed a partnership to represent India at the forthcoming World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual meeting, from January 25 to 29, in Davos, Switzerland.

The "India Everywhere" project, which is the largest ever Indian participation at WEF, would include the presence of senior representatives from the Government and business leaders from different sectors including the Finance Minister, Mr P. Chidambaram, the Commerce and Industry Minister, Mr Kamal Nath, the Deputy Chairman of Planning Commission, Mr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, and the Minister of Tourism, Ms Renuka Chowdhury, along with three Chief Ministers, Delhi's Ms Sheila Dikshit, Rajasthan's Ms Vasundara Raje, and Kerala's Mr Oommen Chandy.

The Government team will be joined by prominent business leaders such as Mr Y.C. Deveshwar, Chairman, ITC and CII President, Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries and co-chair of the WEF Annual Meeting, and Mr Nandan Nilekani, CEO, President & Managing Director, Infosys Technologies.

The other corporate honchos include Mr Rahul Bajaj of Bajaj Auto, Mr Hari Bhartia of Jubilant Organosys, Mr Ramond Bickson of Taj Hotels, Mr Gunit Chadha of Deutsche Bank, Mr Tarun Das, CII's Chief Mentor, Mr J.N. Godrej of Godrej & Boyce Manufacturing Co, Mr Naresh Goyal of Jet Airways, Mr Vijay Mallya of UB Group, Mr Sunil Bharti Mittal of Bharti Enterprises, Mr Lakshmi N. Mittal of Mittal Steel and Mr Malvinder Singh of Ranbaxy among others.

The annual event would witness 2000 global leaders congregating to shape global, regional and industry agenda to find solutions to global challenges. India sees the Davos meet as an opportunity to engage with world participants that comprise a cross-section of political, social and business leaders.

To focus on the country, the India Brand Equity Foundation and Ministry of Tourism are spearheading a communication campaign to showcase Brand India at Davos through special events and promotions. Mr Y.C. Deveshwar, said, "Every CEO needs to grasp the forces that are shaping the world. And the Davos meet is a quick way of engaging with the world community and all its diversities."

Commenting on the marketing strategy of `India Everywhere', Mr Nandan Nilekani stated, "Today, India's appeal stretches from Wall Street to Broadway; from Capitol Hill to Cannes. Policymakers, economists, businessmen and journalists - all are univocal in their opinion - India is everywhere." He added that the prevailing global environment and sentiment towards India presents a unique opportunity to secure disproportionate attention towards the country, from the global business and political communities, alike. "The time to leverage this opportunity is now," he added.

Centred on the theme of `The Creative Imperative', the five-day meet would touch on a diverse range of topics from hardcore business issues such as global economy, setting the business agenda, technology to softer issues such as culture, religion and leadership vision.

Mr Mukesh Ambani, said, "For India, poised to seize global opportunities in the knowledge age, Davos represents a reverberating vista to mirror its strengths and aspirations."