Could have been signed in India: Congress MP takes jibe at Maha CM’s Davos trip

World leaders from government, business, civil society and academia have convened in Switzerland’s Davos to engage in discussions to address global issues and set priorities at the World Economic Forum (WEF) summit. 

However, with Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis signing MoUs with Arcellor Mittal, Surjagad Ispat, and Lodha Group, a Congress leader pointed out that these MoUs could have been signed in India, saving taxpayers’ money spent on such trips for leaders.

The Union ministers who are present at the economic brainstorming sessions in Davos, include Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting, and Electronics and IT; Shivraj Singh Chouhan, Minister for Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare and Rural Development; Pralhad Joshi, Minister of Renewable Energy and K Rammohan Naidu, Minister of Civil Aviation.

The chief ministers who are at the WEF meet to woo investments for their states include Devendra Fadnavis of Maharashtra, N Chandrababu Naidu of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana's A Revanth Reddy, Madhya Pradesh's Mohan Yadav and Jharkhand's Hemant Soren and Assam’s Himanta Biswa Sarma.

“This could have been signed at Sahyadri or Mantralaya or even the fancy office Mangal Prabhat Lodha had built for himself in the BMC isn't it?” asked Varsha Gaikwad, Congress MP of Mumbai North Central.

“Like every year, this year too a whole entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos only to sign MoUs with majority Indian companies. Last year too, MoUs with Hiranandani and Raheja group were signed in Davos, both operate out of Mumbai. Why is taxpayer money being wasted this way?”

The Maharashtra Government secured $173 billion (₹14.5 lakh crore) in investment Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) on its opening day of the WEF summit.

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) signed MoUs worth approximately ₹11 lakh crore ($137 billion) with global firms including Brookfield and Sumitomo.

MMRDA also entered a strategic partnership with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and several international universities to develop Mumbai as a future-ready global city.

Of these MoUs, SBG Group for investment worth ₹3.2 lakh crore ($44 Bn), Arcelor Mittal ₹1.1 lakh crore ($12 BN), Lodha Group ₹1 lakh crore ($12 Bn), Skoda Auto Volkswagen ₹12,000 crore ($1.44 Bn) and Surjagad Ispat ₹20,000 crore.

(with inputs from syndicated feed)