WEF 2017: Global leaders, economists turn to 'sweet spot' India, China to power economic growth

As leaders and economists debated the future of globalisation at WEF, the emerging narrative shifted to growth booster from Asia for the global economy amid darkening prospects for trade worldwide.

Pic for representational purpose

Davos: As leaders and economists at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual meet in Davos met on Thursday, India emerged as the 'sweet spot' along with neighbour China to rev up the global economic growth.

As questions about the future of globalisation were raised at the WEF meet in Davos, leaders shifted their narration of Asia to boost the global growth amid darkening prospects for trade worldwide.

Along with China, India was also applauded as a major driving force for world growth with leaders and economists emphasising the need for increased regional cooperation.

Interestingly, Indian leaders, earlier during the day, listed out demonetisation as a measure owed to people in the fight against black money.

The Modi government "owed" demonetisation to the nation and it had to do it to eradicate black money menace and to bring hoarded cash back into the banking system, Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said.

While asserting that UK would retain its internationalist approach despite Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May said the country's biggest manufacturer Tata is Indian but still there cannot be anything more British than its product Jaguar Land Rover.

Veteran banker and New Development Bank President K V Kamath said a "new normal" is emerging where many countries would prioritise an "inward look" at their national policies even as India remains in a comfortable position.

While stating that India and China contribute a big chunk today to the global growth, he India is in a "sweet spot" as the country absorbs investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and areas driving the consumer sector.

Against the backdrop of rising uncertainties, business leaders and economists felt that India and China have a great role to play in taking forward the Asian growth story by engaging in regional cooperation and eventually boost the global trade.

Reflecting the optimism over the two leading economies, Malaysia's Minister for International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said India and China are very important in taking forward the Asian growth story.

As the prospects for global trade seem to darken, noted economist Kishore Mahbubani said there is indeed a vacuum at the leadership position and it needs to be seen who fills it.

He also noted that ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has a great potential though a lot of people generally focus mostly on India and China.

Making a strong defence of demonetisation, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government "owed" such a step to the nation for eradicating the black money menace.

A delegation of more than 100 individuals, including ministers, government officials and business leaders, are in attendance at the WEF annual meet which has gathered under the theme 'Responsive and Responsible Leadership'.

During a panel discussion on the theme of India's turn to transform, discussions touched upon the fight against corruption and black money, including demonetisation.

Talking about demonetisation, SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya said what was amazing was that there were huge crowds outside banks but still there was no riot or any loss of life due to the law and order situation.

Davos, which hosts the yearly gathering of the rich and the powerful under the umbrella of WEF, seem to have caught the attention as well as imagination of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is now thinking of having such a city in the Himalayas.

"After coming to Davos, I felt why can't we develop a township like this in that area, where people will come in sub-zero temperatures and which will have hotels and tourism facilities and will even go to Mansarovar," the Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister said.

Meanwhile, WEF, government think-tank NITI Aayog, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the Cornell University have joined hands to develop an India Innovation Index to measure the performance of Indian states.

The first ranking is expected to be released at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi on October 4-6, 2017.

"Prime Minister Modi believes that competitive and cooperative federalism is key to India's progress. This index will encourage states to compete with each other and, in turn, lead to better policies for inclusive growth," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.

With PTI Inputs