India Inc lands in Davos as summit begins on Monday in Trump's shadow

Incoming US Prez expected to speak virtually with WEF audience, likely to talk about his economic plans

India Inc’s top brass, including Reliance Industries’ Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group’s N Chandrasekaran, JSW group’s Sajjan Jindal, and Aditya Birla group’s Kumar Mangalam Birla, will attend the World Economic Forum’s (WEF’s) annual summit in Davos, beginning Monday.

 

Their participation comes at a crucial time, as US President Donald Trump’s tariff threat looms over India.

 

Trump is expected to speak virtually with the WEF audience and is likely to reveal his economic plans, including on visas, Bloomberg reported. 

 

The infotech industry will be represented by TCS chief executive officer (CEO) K Krithivasan and Rishad Premji, executive chairman of Wipro. The infotech industry is concerned about possible reduction in visa grants to Indian IT workers.

 

 

Any change by the new US government to reduce visas would impact Indian companies.

 

The H-1B visa program, which permits US companies to hire skilled foreign workers in specialised fields, has long been a source of controversy. Any change in the policy by Trump would impact India’s $250 billion IT sector. It is likely to be debated by top Indian leaders. 

Also Read: Donald Trump inauguration LIVE updates

 

The startup world would be represented by PayTM CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath.

 

Interestingly, the entire Ambani family is making the trip to Davos in Switzerland, including Reliance Foundation's Nita Ambani, Akash Ambani, Ananth Ambani and Isha Ambani.

 

The banking, financial services and insurance (BFSI) sector would be represented by Axis Bank CEO Amitabh Chaudhry and Sanjiv Bajaj, chairman and managing director of Bajaj Finserv. Nadir Godrej, chairman of Godrej Industries and Prashant Ruia, director of Essar group, have also confirmed their participation.

 

“Given its size, scale and status, India adds power and prestige to Davos. We look forward to sharing on this prestigious platform how Essar is contributing to the Prime Minister’s vision of a Viksit Bharat besides partnering the UK government in its mission of clean energy. We hope to interact with the best and brightest minds on the latest thinking and trends in global issues and how the future will pan out,” Ruia said.

 

India Inc’s contingent is joined by top government leaders and state chief ministers who plan to promote India as an investment destination.