After much soul-searching, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has finally cleared a high-powered six-member delegation to be led by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee for the World Economic Forum summit in Davos.
This is the strongest-ever team India will take to the five-day summit scheduled to commence on January 26.
Just two weeks ago, senior government functionaries, including deputy chairman Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahluwalia, had expressed reservations if it was the right time to raise the India tempo so high in a global platform such as the WEF. Others were apprehensive of encountering embarrassing questions from the global audience on a string of allegations the government faced including the 2G spectrum allocation.
But then, a theme-based branding strategy, India Inclusive, conceived by Nandan Nilekani, chairman, Unique Identification Authority of India, has made the Confederation of Indian Industry?s proposal for taking the biggest-ever Indian contingent more palatable.
Now India is slated to occupy the Congress centre ? where plenary sessions are held ? more than any other country. Nearly 100 CEOs, including Mukesh Ambani, Ratan Tata and Sunil Bharti Mittal will make a strong pitch for global investments into India.
?The country?s role as a ?Goldilocks economy?, where growth is high yet stable and sustainable, makes it an attractive investment destination. And its growing emphasis on inclusive development will aid India?s dynamism in the decades to come,? Nilekani, who drafted the strategy paper, told The Indian Express.