Lot of interest in PM Modi's policies at WEF meeting in Davos

NEW DELHI: Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Sunday said there was a lot of interest globally in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's economic policies, which would be the focus of discussions at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Vaishnaw, who is leading the Indian delegation at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting beginning Monday, said there was a lot of interest in India's growth story among the international community, particularly about the digital transformation and the new digital architecture.

"In the World Economic Forum in Davos, there is lot of interest in understanding our thought process, the prime minister's economic policy, about the digital transformation, about the way India has created new digital architecture under the Digital India programme and also the way technology has been democratised. There is a lot of interest on this," he said.

There will be detailed discussions about inclusive growth, the investment in social, physical, digital infrastructure and on democratising technology, he added.

"The prime minister has put huge focus on inclusive development and a growth that brings a big transformative change in the lives of the people at the bottom of the pyramid, people who have been left out of development over many decades in the past," said Vaishnaw, the minister for information and broadcasting, railways, and electronics and information technology.

"Whether it is bank accounts, providing toilets, gas connections, tap water connections, getting the basic infrastructure in villages done, infrastructure in urban areas done, this is something which the world wants to understand," he added.

Besides Vaishnaw, Union ministers CR Patil, K Ram Mohan Naidu, Chirag Paswan, and Jayant Chaudhary are expected to attend the WEF from January 20 to 24.

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy, and their Andhra Pradesh counterpart Chandrababu Naidu will also attend the WEF meeting.

US President-elect Donald Trump is expected to join the meeting via video link after he assumes office on Monday.