Davos/KLosters: India’s presence at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026 was marked by a strong narrative shift, with government officials and business delegates underscoring the country’s transition from an “emerging” economy to a central pillar of global growth and economic stability — a theme that resonated across high-level sessions and investor dialogues.
Speaking at a luncheon session titled “Shift From Emerging to Pivotal: India in the New Geoeconomic Order,” Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu said India is no longer defined by the constraints of an emerging market but has become “essential to the global economic order”, supported by trust, scale, innovation and resilient institutions.
Deputy Chief Minister of Gujarat Harsh Sanghavi echoed the sentiment, emphasising that for decades international discourse framed India merely as an “emerging economy,” but today’s reality is far broader — India is a pivotal engine of global growth, resilient supply chains, democratic stability and innovation, he said.
Panelists pointed to India’s deepening digital public infrastructure — including Aadhaar-linked digital identity, real-time payments and consent-based data platforms — as a critical enabler that has lowered transaction costs, formalised enterprises and catalysed innovation without necessitating massive upfront capital. Such infrastructure, ministers argued, is transforming the growth model by embedding inclusion into economic expansion.
The broader consensus at Davos was that India’s broad-based, digitally enabled and infrastructure-backed growth distinguishes it from other emerging markets. Delegates noted that while many advanced economies contend with slowing trajectories and high debt, India’s growth remains robust, supported by a young workforce, expanding manufacturing and services sectors, and strategic integration into global value chains.
In parallel, global research presented at the forum highlighted India’s rising role in semiconductors, artificial intelligence and clean energy, signalling that the country’s growth is increasingly tied to future-oriented capabilities that matter to investors worldwide. Such developments underpin views that India’s economic evolution is not just quantitative but also qualitatively reshaping its global role.
This pivotal position will hinge on ongoing reforms to enhance productivity, deepen human capital development and raise per-capita incomes, even as India’s overall growth trajectory remains among the strongest in large economies.
With global leaders and investors anchoring confidence in India’s growth model amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainties, New Delhi’s message at WEF 2026 was clear: India’s economic influence now extends beyond emerging-market status into the core architecture of global economic governance and investment flows.