WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 2026

WORLD ECONOMIC FORUM 2026

Why in News

• Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw clarified India’s position on the World Economic Forum (WEF) during the 2026 meeting at Davos-Klosters.
• He stated that WEF is mainly a platform for idea exchange, not for formal trade negotiations between country delegations.

INDIA’S POSITION ON TRADE TALKS

• India remains actively engaged with major global economies.
• However, delegation-to-delegation trade negotiations do not happen at Davos.
• According to Vaishnaw:
  • Davos focuses on panels, discussions, and bilateral interactions.
  • Formal trade talks occur through separate diplomatic and economic channels, as per each country’s schedule.
• Hence, India-US trade negotiations are not conducted at the WEF platform.

ROLE OF WEF (AS EXPLAINED BY INDIA)

• WEF is primarily:
  • A dialogue-driven forum
  • A space for sharing ideas, experiences, and policy perspectives
• It helps:
  • Shape global thinking
  • Build informal consensus
  • Highlight national growth stories
• It is not a treaty-making or trade-negotiation body.

INDIA’S ECONOMIC NARRATIVE @ DAVOS

• India’s economic transformation under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a key discussion point.
• The Indian delegation is:
  • Actively participating in major meetings
  • Showcasing how India is:
    • Using modern technology
    • Ensuring inclusive and equitable growth

• India is projecting itself as:
  • A stable growth engine
  • A technology-driven economy
  • A reliable global partner

KEY DETAILS

• Event: 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum
• Dates: January 19–23, 2026
• Participants:
  • Nearly 3,000 delegates
  • From 130+ countries
• Theme: “A Spirit of Dialogue”
• Participants include:
  • World leaders
  • CEOs and business leaders
  • Policymakers
  • Innovators
  • Civil society and academia

FOCUS AREAS @ WEF 2026

• Global economic uncertainty
• Technology and innovation
• Climate change and sustainability
• Geopolitical challenges
• Inclusive growth and social equity
• Need for bold collective global action

INDIA & RENEWABLE ENERGY @ WEF

• India highlighted as one of the fastest-growing renewable energy markets
• Union Minister Pralhad Joshi urged:
  • Global investors to partner with India
  • Collaboration in clean and renewable energy projects
• India positioned as:
  • A key player in the global energy transition
  • A reliable destination for green investments

SIGNIFICANCE FOR INDIA

• Enhances India’s global visibility
• Strengthens perception of India as:
  • Growth-oriented
  • Reform-driven
  • Climate-conscious
• Provides a platform to:
  • Build narratives
  • Network with global leaders
  • Attract investment without formal negotiations

INDIA’S AI FOCUS

• Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also participated in a high-level global panel titled “AI Power Play” at the World Economic Forum 2026.
• The discussion focused on:
  • Geopolitics of Artificial Intelligence
  • Economic impact of AI
  • AI governance and trust
  • Inclusive and affordable AI diffusion
• The panel included global leaders from multilateral institutions, governments, and the technology industry.

INDIA POSITIONS ITSELF AS A GLOBAL AI POWER

• India clearly placed itself in the first group of AI-ready nations.
• According to the Minister, India is progressing across all five layers of the AI ecosystem:
  • Applications
  • AI models
  • Chips
  • Digital infrastructure
  • Energy support
• India challenged the IMF’s traditional AI power rankings, highlighting real-world readiness rather than headline scale.

INDIA’S AI STRATEGY: MAXIMUM RETURN AT LOW COST

• India’s AI approach focuses on Return on Investment (ROI), not just building the largest models.
• Key point:
  • Nearly 95% of real-world AI use cases can be solved using 20–50 billion parameter models.
• India has already developed a bouquet of efficient, cost-effective AI models.
• These models are:
  • More relevant to global and developing-world problems
  • Actively deployed across sectors to improve productivity

AI AS A DEMOCRATISING TECHNOLOGY IN INDIA

• AI is helping India to deliver:
  • Faster public services
  • Efficient governance
  • Scalable digital solutions
• India is emphasising AI diffusion, not AI concentration.
• Focus is on:
  • Access for startups
  • Students
  • Researchers
  • Small enterprise

NATIONAL AI COMPUTE PUSH

• To solve the global GPU shortage, India adopted a public-private partnership model.
• Key highlights:
  • 38,000 GPUs empanelled as a shared national compute facility
  • Government-subsidised access
  • Available at around one-third of global market cost
• This ensures affordable AI development for:
  • Startups
  • Academia
  • Innovation ecosystem

MASSIVE AI SKILLING DRIVE

• India has launched a nationwide AI skilling programme.
• Target:
  • Training 10 million people
• Goal:
• • Enable India’s IT sector and startups to:
    • Use AI effectively
    • Deliver global services
    • Compete internationally

INDIA’S TECHNO LEGAL APPROACH TO AI GOVERNANCE

• India advocates a techno-legal model for AI governance.
• Key elements:
  • Laws alone are not enough
  • Need technical solutions alongside regulation
• Focus areas:
  • Detecting AI bias
  • Identifying deepfakes with court-admissible accuracy
  • Building trust through tools like AI unlearning
• India is developing indigenous technological safeguards for responsible AI use.

GLOBAL RECOGNITION TO INDIA’S AI RISE

• Panel moderators and global leaders acknowledged:
  • India’s rapid rise as a technological and geopolitical power
  • India’s model of affordable, scalable, sovereign AI
• India’s AI pathway is increasingly seen as a template for emerging economies.

OVERALL SIGNIFICANCE

• India used Davos 2026 to:
  • Project AI leadership
  • Promote inclusive and affordable innovation
  • Shift the global AI narrative from scale to impact
• The message was clear:
  • India is not just consuming AI — it is shaping how AI should serve society.

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