'Everything is in India's favour': NITI Aayog CEO optimistic about future economic growth

CEO of Niti Aayog Parameswaran Iyer revealed that India has emerged as a topic of interest at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit which is underway in Davos, Switzerland. Speaking exclusively to Republic TV from Davos, Iyer reflected on the recognition that India has received for its growth amid a global economic slowdown and stated that everything is in India's favour moving forward. 

The India story at Davos

The 53rd edition of the WEF meeting saw world leaders, global investors and CEOs under one roof who are discussing every important ranging from climate change to the economic stability of the world. 

The Indian delegation comprised of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde, among other CMs including Yogi Adityanath, Basavaraj Bommai and Union Ministers such as Smriti Irani, Masukh Mandaviya and RK Singh who attended the week-long summit at different points in time. Business tycoons including Mukesh Ambani, Gautam Adani, Adar Poonawalla, N Chandrasekaran also attended the summit along with hundreds of other young entrepreneurs to project India as a strong and resilient economy amid a global recession. Notably, India has a much larger presence this year in Davos as the government has sent the largest delegation to date and Iyer explained the logic behind it.

"It is important to have businessmen, business executives, startups, entrepreneurs (and) state governments. So it is a whole of government, a sort of team India, the public-private sector which is represented here. And I think it is making a big difference," Iyer said. 

In contrast to China, which has a relatively muted presence at the WEF, Iyer said that there is "a very high visibility" in terms of topics of discussion. He also said that "the interest in India from investors from abroad in terms of all the steps the government" will make a big difference in the future. When asked how impactful is India's G20 Presidency that it assumed late in December 2022, Iyer said that it is being extensively discussed "how can India drive development through the G20 Presidency".

"Whether it is digitalisation, whether it is climate, whether it is accelerating women-led development and the digital development and data for the economy, these are the key themes which have resonated in many of the sessions and bilateral meetings," Iyer revealed. He also revealed that there was an immense acknowledgement of India's economic resilience as it continues to maintain an average of around 6.5% growth rate when its neighbour China clocked in a mere 3% growth rate, making it the worst in the last 40 years.