The Klaus Schwab-led World Economic Forum may be concerned whether the recent corruption-related events at home will cast a shadow over the Confederation of Indian Industry?s high-decibel India Inclusive campaign at Davos, but the Centre is keen to tackle these issues upfront rather than bury its heads in the sand.
?An India campaign of this kind takes months to put it together. It?s got a certain momentum now. It had Klaus Schwab excited. Not going there will be much worse,? said a senior government official who did not wish to be quoted.
To add more mettle to the campaign, the ministry of external affairs, on its part, has distributed a coffee table book ? India For A Billion Reasons ? to about 1,500 global delegates ahead of the five-day summit that commences January 26. The book comprises articles by eminent persons on a host of areas, from economy to cuisine and art.
Ahead of his departure to Davos, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman, Planning Commission, who will inaugurate ?India Adda??a meeting place for all interested in the country?with Schwab on Tuesday said, ?It is true there is public tension, and news is dominated by several scams, but what matters is how the Centre responds when there are problems We can convey to everybody the actions being taken by the government.?
Besides the coffee table book, the ministry of external affairs has also prepared a short film on the economy?An Indian Symphony?that charts the journey from the reforms of 1991 to the current policy focus on inclusive growth.
Ratan Tata, Nandan Nilekani, Sunil Mittal and Devi Shetty have lent their voice to this short film. It will be screened at India Adda and the evening soiree being hosted by the country after a gap of five years.
When contacted, commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma said the India Inclusive campaign, though high-profile, was not immodest. It tells rich countries how important redistribution of wealth is, he said. ?Just because there are some scams, I don?t think we stop functioning as a nation. It happens all over the world. There are agencies doing their job. We cannot stop engaging with the world.?
It?s after five years after the India Everywhere campaign in 2006 that the CII has again put together such a big campaign in the Davos summit. ?Of course, we expect embarrassing questions from global CEOs, but we will be more proactive in answering them,? said CII president Hari Bhartia, who will be leading a 120-strong CEO delegation.
Home minister P Chidambaram and urban development minister Kamal Nath too are part of the cleared by the Prime Minister.