Ashwini Vaishnaw attends WEF 2026 at Davos, participates in roundtable with semiconductor CEOs

unification IT government minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on midweek participated in a roundtable at the domain economical Forum with CEOs from the semiconductor industry in Davos, Switzerland.

Following the meeting, Vaishnaw in a post on X said that Bharat is building a complete semiconductor industry. “Bharat is building a complete semiconductor ecosystem covering design, fabrication, packaging, materials, gases and equipment.”

Global industry sees India as an increasingly reliable supply‑chain partner, a statement from the government read on Wednesday.

In his post on X, Vaishnaw also highlighted Google's $15 billion investment in India announced earlier last year.

“Google is strengthening its commitment to India’s AI ecosystem, including a $15B AI data centre in Vizag & partnerships with Indian startups,” he said.

Vaishnaw pushes back on IMF suggestion

The Union Minister for Electronics and IT rejected the International Monetary Fund's (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva's suggestion that India belongs to a second tier of AI economies, saying that India is clearly in the first group globally.

“I don't know what the IMF criteria has been, but Stanford places India as third in terms of AI penetration, in terms of AI preparedness, and in terms of AI talent,” he said addressing a panel at Davos.

Taking a direct hit at the IMF chief, Vaishnaw said, “I don't think your classification in the second book is right. It's actually in the first.”

The panel, which focused on AI and the economy, included Saudi Arabian Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih and Microsoft President Brad Smith.

India ‘deeply engaged’ with economies: Vaishnaw

Vaishnaw on Wednesday said that while India is in constant touch with major world powers, the World Economic Forum is primarily a forum for sharing ideas rather than for formal group-to-group trade meetings.

On being asked if India will be having a meeting with the US delegation, Ashwini Vaishnaw said, “The format of Davos is a format where we generally do panels and bilaterals. The trade meetings take place according to the country's own schedules and negotiations. They are deeply engaged with all the major economies on practically all fronts at this point in time. This is not the forum in which we meet delegation to delegation.”

The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum is being held from January 19 to 23, 2026, at Davos-Klosters, welcoming nearly 3,000 participants from over 130 countries, including a record number of world leaders, CEOs, innovators and policymakers, under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue."

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