WEF Davos 2015 News

Retail giant Walmart will work with Andhra Pradesh government in five areas, including branding and marketing of the state's products, Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said here Tuesday.

Tony Fernandes, the Indian-origin founder and CEO of the AirAsia group, has called for a single aviation authority to approve licences to operate in 10 Southeast Asian nations, an issue that assumed significance after the deadly crash of the group's Flight QZ8501.

Terming the mood upbeat about India story at the just-concluded WEF summit, diversified conglomerate Mahindra and Mahindra's top official Shriprakash Shukla said investors across sectors made enquiries here about potential collaborations.

Employees of state-run behemoth Coal India will be given an opportunity to participate in the proposed disinvestment of the company and all issues regarding their opposition to the share sale have been resolved, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has said.

Promising to make doing business much more attractive, Union Minister Piyush Goyal has assured investors that they can work in India without fear or favour.

Committed to a diversified global workforce, IT major Tech Mahindra chief C P Gurnani has said employees in the IT industry will have to continuously re-skill themselves as 10-15 percent technology jobs will become obsolete every year.

Nonetheless, a large number of Indians present here at Davos had scheduled meetings with bankers and top executives of various small and large Swiss banks.

Kotak, who has been a regular at the WEF summits in Davos, also said the big stimulus from European Central Bank is going to have a significant impact for global flows positively and Indian markets may also get greater flows.

India emerged as one of the bright spots in an otherwise sluggish global economic outlook, while the country's political and business leadership put up a strong show after a gap of two years.

Japan will host World Economic Forum's special meeting scheduled to be held in October 2016.

Terming 2015 as a make or break year, IMF chief Christine Lagarde Saturday said the global economy faces the risk of getting stuck in a 'new mediocre' or a prolonged period of slow growth and feeble job creation.

Looking to attract foreign investors to Maharashtra, Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has promised them easier business environment and faster clearances as he works towards making his state the most preferred destination within India for investors.

As the WEF summit draws to a close Saturday, a few big names from India including Mukesh Ambani and Anand Mahindra were missing in action while Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Jordan's King Abdullah II were among global leaders who cancelled their trips at the last moment.

The lives of people in poor countries is expected to improve faster in the next 15 years as innovation and technology drives optimism for a sustainable future, says leading philanthropist Bill Gates.

Making a strong pitch before foreign investors here at WEF, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu said the state offers great opportunities in areas ranging from technology to tourism to infrastructure to oil refineries.

Asserting that investors have no concern about ordinance route being adopted for coal auction, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said the entire process would generate over USD 100 billion in royalties and auction proceeds for various states.

Enthused by the upbeat mood visible about India here at World Economic Forum, eminent banker Uday Kotak said investors now want to see some real action on the ground.

Impressed with the euphoria about India here at WEF summit, IT industry leader C P Gurnani on Saturday said a lot will depend on the individual states to ensure that this upbeat interest among foreign investors translates into real investment flows.

Betting big on the 'Internet of Things' as the third major wave in technology space, IT major TCS' chief N Chandrasekaran has said that going digital was no more an option, but a default now.

Business leaders pushing for frictionless free trade have something new to worry about: the potential break-up of the Internet, which today forms the backbone of the global economy.