NEW DELHI: To mark its presence robustly at the just-concluded World Economic Forums (WEF) annual meeting this year, India had sent a record delegation this year led by Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal. The meeting took place in Davos from May 23-25.

This year coincides with the World Economic Forum’s 50th anniversary and 35 years of the Forum’s collaboration with India. Speaking at the WEF, Mr Goyal said, even as challenges continue to remain on the economic front, the government is conscious to move forward and is aware of what to focus on. He said there is a lot of optimism globally regarding India.

Mr Goyal also expressed concern over “excessive dependence” on international supply chains and asked businesses to procure locally “whenever there is an opportunity”. He also mentioned that India has no plans to immediately lift the ban on wheat export. India is now the second largest wheat producer in the whole world. But it had put a ban on private overseas sales as output was hit due to heat waves and domestic prices hit a record high.

Nearly 100 participants and dozens of political leaders from India attended the World Economic Forum, and presented the country’s position on the energy situation, food security and health equity at Davos. In line with the Centre’s priorities, sessions were organised at the India Lounge keeping in mind India’s strategic advantage, existing and upcoming incentive architecture, industry investment potential and market opportunity. The key topics which were discussed during the sessions include policy and ease of doing business reforms, energy transition, digital economy, opportunities in National Monetization Pipeline, India as an entrepreneurial destination shaping the unicorn story, growing talents in the digital space, emphasis on innovation and research in the healthcare ecosystem.