From crafting catchy campaign slogans to highlighting sector-specific strengths and policy initiatives, southern states are locked in a fierce race to outshine one another at the annual World Economic Forum (WEF) meeting in Davos, starting Monday.
Tamil Nadu has launched ‘Bullish on Tamil Nadu’ campaign to showcase its industrial prowess in areas of automobile and electronics manufacturing. The state will highlight its inclusive economic growth by highlighting the high number of women workforce Participation in the state’s industries.
A delegation led by the State Industries Minister TRB Rajaa has lined up 50 meetings with global leaders across industries during the 3-4 day summit. The Middle East and Europe governments have show interest in exploring business collaboration, a state government official said.
“We will highlight our manufacturing expertise in automotive and electric vehicle R&D, and position Tamil Nadu as a hub for advanced electronics,” said an official from the delegation. Renewable energy, med-tech, healthcare, food processing, and Global Capability Centres (GCCs) will also be other focus areas during the summit.
Andhra Pradesh, represented by an eight-member delegation led by Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and IT & HDRD Minister Nara Lokesh, plans to promote its ‘speed of doing business’ as a unique advantage for investors. Nara Lokesh, who also chairs the State Government’s Task Force Committee on Investments, is set to meet over 50 industrialists and highlight 21 sector-specific policies across IT, food processing, and clean energy.
Karnataka, which secured MoUs worth ₹22,000 crore at WEF 2024, is skipping this year’s event. “Our focus is on the upcoming Global Investors Meet scheduled in a few weeks,” a senior government official told FE. The three-day ‘Invest Karnataka 2025’ summit is slated to begin on February 11.
Telangana, led by Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy, is targeting investment commitments worth ₹1 lakh crore. A delegation of senior officials are visiting Singapore and the WEF 2025.
A senior state government official told FE that the Chief Minister will make a pitch on ‘Telangana Rising 2050’, a vision document for 25 years, outlining a roadmap for sustainable, balanced, and equitable growth. The state will highlight incentives in artificial intelligence, IT, pharma, and manufacturing sectors. The delegation will also highlight ‘future city,’ a proposed fourth city south of Hyderabad, following the city’s core, Secunderabad, and the Hi-Tec IT corridor.
Kerala, gearing up for its own Kerala Global Summit on February 21, has dispatched a nine-member delegation led by Industries Minister P Rajeev to participate in the 55th annual meeting of WEF.
Six Indian states—Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and Kerala—will share a joint pavilion at the WEF this year, marking a shift from previous years when states competed with standalone pavilions to attract global investors.
