The slowing economy did not dim India's charm in Davos

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Seven years ago at Davos, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India's ambition to become a $5 trillion economy by 2025.

“The people and youth of India are here now ready to contribute to the creation of the economy from $5 trillion by 2025. “He presented his address at the 2018 World Economic Forum (WEF).

“Not only this, when innovation and entrepreneurship… Help (a person) transform from a job seeker to a carpetbagger, then the number of opportunities that will open up for their country and your company can be imagined,” Modi added.

It's safe to say that achieving this goal proved difficult.

India's economy is expected to follow suit $4.27 trillion this year, according to the International Monetary Fund0.73 trillion dollars without Modi target.

His Slowing down the economy raised questions about the country's lofty growth goals. Market observers say India is now in the midst of a cyclical slowdown.

What is interesting, however, is that India's story – and its growth potential – continues to attract the attention of investors in India, Davos and beyond.

India belongs to Top five territories where global CEOs surveyed by consultancy PWC want to invest in the next 12 months. The other territories in the top five among the 4,700 CEOs surveyed in 109 countries were the US, UK, Germany and mainland China.

Optimism in India has spilled over into the ongoing discussions at Davos.

Speaking to CNBC on the sidelines of this year's World Economic Forum, Khaldoon Al Mubarak Mubadala Investment Company He described India as “a very, very interesting country (and) a very interesting market.”

Among the indicators that stand out to him about India's potential is its large but young demographic. Mubarak said about 480 million Indians are under the age of 18 – that's larger than the US population, the combined population of Europe, the number of people in the Middle East, and the population of South America under 18.

“We have been investing in India… for years and we continue to work on building our portfolio in India and really getting into this wave that has already started,” he said.

This series, he added: “It will continue in my opinion.”

Investments in Mubadala in India include Tata Power Renewable energy Tata Power and Reliance Industries-JIO's huge technology platforms.

Prosus is another investment firm that wants to cash in on India's growth potential, especially the country's technology industry.

“You've seen the impact of technology in India… and they're saying 'we're ready for the next step,'” the company's CEO Fabricio Bloisi told CNBC On the sidelines of the summit.

“Prosus is ready to invest significantly more in India. We have invested like $8 billion there over the last few years and we will invest much more,” he added.

Indian startups Prosus has invested in food delivery company Swiggy, edtech company Byju, Agritech Player Dehaat and e-commerce platform Meesho.

Lots of technology

India's interest – particularly in opportunities in the technology and startup space – is in line with the government's broader focus on growing the sector.

Among the key priorities of the Indian delegation this year was deepening its foothold in the semiconductor industry through government incentives and targets.

This includes examining the development of its own graphics processing unit (GPU) over the next three to five years, Ashwini Vaishnoraw, Minister of Railways, Information Technology and Information and Broadcasting he told CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the WEF meeting.

Other projects he revealed include India's plans to develop 25 indigenous chipsets Designed and fabricated in-country. It looks forward to implementing the first layout by September and the first FAB by 2026.

Vaishnow also outlined the government's goal of providing basic computing power with 1,000 GPUs, especially for the benefit of startups that lack access.

He added that this is part of the government's focus on supporting talent and using data to create robust data sets for training AI models.

Vaishnoraw led India's largest delegation to Davos this year, with representatives from eight states: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, with each fighting for investments for upcoming initiatives.

For example, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu he reportedly presented a business-friendly policy in hopes of winning over multinational corporations UnileverIN PepsicoGoogle Cloud i AstraZeneca.

Meanwhile, its neighbor Telangana showcased its expertise in electric vehicles, pharmaceuticals and semiconductors. Elsewhere, Maharashtra reportedly identified himself as India is an industrial powerhouse.

The huge presence of Indian officials in Davos is probably an acknowledgment of the fact that companies, especially those that have only been around for a few years, need more capital than they can raise at home.

Foreign investment in the country is “drying up” due to economic policy uncertainty and geopolitical risks, according to Dhiraj Nim, stock market strategist and economist at ANZ.

One way forward is for the Indian government to “foster greater confidence by reducing political and regulatory costs, improving the ease of doing business,” he suggested.

“There are many Indias, even if global variables are out of control. India plans to become a developed nation by 2047, so we would need much stronger growth than the 6-7% we are used to. And the growth will have To be realized by making more investments, as well as increasing labor productivity and technological capabilities, ”added Nim.

The question of how India plans to continue to grow at a sustainable pace while providing jobs and increasing productivity is paramount to the Indian government. At Davos India, Minister of Broadcasting Electronics and Information Ashwini Vaishnoraw sat down to discuss with a group of global executives, investors and Indian entrepreneurs. The breakfast, hosted by Brunswick Group and CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum, allowed executives and investors to ask questions of the minister and discuss the investment environment in India.

India may lower disinvestment target for FY25. The country's government is looking lower divestment and asset monetization goals by 40% – or to less than 300 billion rupees ($3.47 billion) of 500 billion rupees – in fiscal year 2024-2025, citing people familiar with the discussions. Regulatory hurdles and valuation challenges proved to be roadblocks, but Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration still sold more stakes in state-owned companies than under previous governments.

The Quad convened and confirmed their partnership. Foreign ministers including the US, Australia, India and Japan met on Tuesday and stressed the importance of preserving a free Indo-Pacific, according to a joint statement issued after the talks in Washington. The meeting, led by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on his first day on the job, was intended to make this point Countering China has been a top priority for the Trump administrationanalysts said.

Oil prices may rise in India. Imposed by the US New sanctions on Russian oil According to trade intelligence firm Kpler, New Delhi, January 10, as India imports about 40% of its oil from Russia. There may be supply disruptions in India as much as 500,000 barrels a dayRystad Energy senior analyst Viktor Kurilov told CNBC. To cushion the potential oil shock, Indian importers are looking to import crude from suppliers in the Middle East.

Indian shares trading this week. . Nifty 50 The index fell 0.03% this week and closed at 23,205.35 points.

The 10-year Indian government bond yield was flat at 6.78%.

Kumar Rakesh, BNP Paribas' India Analyst, spoke on CNBC TV this week Optimism in India in the automotive industry. Rakesh said that India's exports of passenger vehicles and motorcycles are growing at quite a strong pace, especially in the African, Latin American, Middle East and Southeast Asian markets. Additionally, Indian automakers have been able to enjoy greater profitability as their domestic production costs are among the lowest in the world.

Meanwhile, Jose Rasco, HSBC Global Private Banking and Management Management Americas CIO, admitted that the Indian market is not cheap, but that is because investors are “paying for quality. “Some of the features that attract investors to India are its young and diversified economy, good legal system and rising productivity in recent years.