The 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF 2025) was held, with the theme “Collaboration for the Intelligent Age”, from January 20 to 24, 2025 in Davos-Klosters, Switzerland.
Highlights of WEF 2025:
C4IR India released its Impact Journey Report:
i.The Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution (C4IR) India, liaison office of WEF in India, launched its 6-year Impact journey report during the WEF Annual meeting 2025.
ii.The C4IR India was launched in 2018 in Mumbai(Maharashtra) with NITI(National Institution for Transforming India) Aayog and Reliance Industries as founding partners for promoting responsible and inclusive technological development.
- It has impacted the lives of 1.25 million people and aims to expand its reach to 10 million citizens.
- The Centre is focusing on cutting-edge areas such as climate technology, and space technologies with key projects like Artificial Intelligence (AI) for India 2030, the Space Economy initiative, and the AVIATE (Aviation – Innovation Autonomy and Technology for Everyone).
iii.WEF has recognized India as an emerging global leader in technological innovation and economic growth and becoming a startup and digital innovation hub
iv.The WEF’s partnership with India is over 40 years old and has made integrated efforts across government, business, academia, and civil society to make development in areas like including AI-driven agricultural programs, healthcare solutions, and sustainable urban frameworks.
India’s WASH Innovations Lead Global Discourse:
i.A high-profile discussion on “India’s WASH Innovation: Driving Global Impact in Climate and Water Sustainability” was held at the India Pavilion in WEF 2025 which highlighted India’s efforts towards Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene (WASH) and its significant role in global climate resilience and sustainable development.
ii.India’s achievements through the Swachh Bharat Mission(SBM) (the construction of over 95 million toilets) and the Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) (widespread household tap water connections) were highlighted as WASH initiatives.
iii.The session was followed by two insightful panel discussion,
- The keynote address was followed by two panel discussions: one on “Bringing Global Impact in Water Sustainability” and another on “Innovation in Global Health Through Sanitation.”
- These discussions included views from National Mission for Clean Ganga(NMCG), United Nations Children’s Fund(UNICEF), WaterAid, the Gates Foundation, Riseberg Ventures, and actor-advocate Vivek Oberoi on advancing water sustainability and sanitation worldwide.
iv.During the event, Union Minister C. R. Patil highlighted India’s significant role in advancing the United Nations(UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with a focus on SDG 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation) and SDG 13 (Climate Action).
WEF released “Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap” Report :
During the meeting, the WEF, in collaboration with New York City(the United States of America, USA) based McKinsey Health Institute(MHI), released a report titled ‘Blueprint to Close the Women’s Health Gap: How to Improve Lives and Economies for All’ that highlights the global health condition of women and the need to close the health gap.
Highlights:
i.The report projected that addressing key women-specific health challenges could contribute USD 400 billion in global Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually by 2040.
ii.The report also emphasizes that women spend 25% more of their lives in poor health as compared to men.
iii.It has highlighted 9 key health conditions to be focused upon which could reduce the global disease burden by 27 million disability-adjusted life years and equally add 2.5 healthy days per woman each year.
- Five of these conditions are related to the total number of years lived – maternal hypertensive disorders, postpartum hemorrhage, ischemic heart disease, cervical cancer, and breast cancer.
- Four conditions show focus on how many of those years are lived in good health– endometriosis, menopause, migraine, and premenstrual syndrome.
v.The report has introduced Women’s Health Impact Tracking (WHIT) platform, which will be used to measure and track health gaps for women.
It emphasizes five key actions to be undertaken-
- Count women– globally collect data to measure women’s health and health outcomes
- Study women – understanding hormonal health and women’s biology
- Care for women – implement clinical practice guidelines for women-specific conditions
- Include all women – develop ways for early treatment for women around the world
- Invest in women – promote financing for women’s health research and interventions
India Secures USD 250 Million Investment from Belgium’s AB InBev
During the WEF 2025, Union Minister for Food Processing Industries (MoFPI), Chirag Paswan, announced that Belgium based AB InBev will provide India with an investment of USD 250 million for developing its beverage sector, which will span over the next two to three years.
- States like Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh(UP), and regions in South India are set to benefit from these investments
Telangana secures Rs.1.78 lakh crore investments :
The Telangana government secured an investment of Rs 1,78,950 crore, which will create 49,550 jobs, on the sidelines of the WEF 2025 in Switzerland.
- The state government signed several Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs), with major focus on establishing data centres, followed by pumped storage facilities.
MoUs signed by Telangana Government:
| Company | Investment | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Megha Engineering and Infrastructures Limited (MEIL) | Rs.15000 crore | i.A state-of-the-art 2160 Megawatt (MW) Pumped Storage Project worth Rs.11000 crore, to strengthen Telangana’s renewable energy capabilities. ii.Establishment of 1,000-Megawatt Hour (MWh) Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at various strategic locations across the state Rs.3,000 crore. iii.Development of a luxury wellness resort at Ananthagiri worth Rs.1000 crore |
| Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited | Rs.500 crore | Establishment of an integrated private rocket manufacturing, integration and testing facility in Telangana. |
| JSW UAV Limited | Rs. 800 crore | To set up a facility in the state for manufacturing Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAV) through the use of technology of a leading US-based defense technology company. |
| Sun Petrochemicals Private Limited | Rs.45,500 crore | To establish three Pumped Storage Hydro Power projects in the districts of Nagarkurnool, Mancherial, and Mulugu in Telangana. These projects will have a combined capacity of 3,400 MW accompanied by 5,440 MW downstream integrated solar power plants. |
| Akshat Greentech Private Limited | Rs.7000 crore | Set up a 6.9 GW solar cells and 6.9 GW solar modules manufacturing unit in Hyderabad and is expected to create over 2,500 direct jobs |
| Amazon Web Services (AWS) | Rs 60,000 crore | To expand its data centre infrastructure in Telangana |
| Tillman Global Holdings(TGH) | Rs 15,000 crores | To invest in a 300 MW hyperscale data center facility in Telangana. |
| CtrlS Datacenters Limited | Rs 10,000 crores | For the establishment of an AI data center cluster with a capacity of 400 megawatt (MW). |
| Ursa Clusters | Rs 5,000 crore | To establish a 100 MW AI-powered data centre hub in Hyderabad. |
| Blackstone Inc., | Rs 4,500 crore | To develop a 150MW data centre facility in Hyderabad. |
Others:
i.The Ramky Group decided to invest in integrated industrial parks, a dry port and townships, while the MTS Group LLC also committed significant investments.
ii.Software majors such as Infosys Limited (17,000 jobs), HCL Technologies Limited(5,000) and Wipro Limited(5,000) unveiled their plans for expansions in Hyderabad, Telangana.
Maharashtra sign 61 MoUs worth Rs 15.70 lakh crore
Maharashtra government has signed 61 MoUs, including 54 investment proposals and 7 strategic cooperation, at WEF2025 of investment worth Rs 15.70 lakh crore and having the potential to provide 16 lakh jobs in the state.
- The sectors include artificial intelligence (AI), data, green energy, hydrogen, and water conservation.
MoUs signed by Maharashtra:
| Company | Investment | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Amazon Web Services(AWS) | Rs.71,795 crore | To set up a data centre. |
| Hiranandani Group | Rs.51,600 crore | For the infrastructure Project. |
| Paras Defence & Space Technologies Limited | Rs 12,000 crore | i.Establishment of country’s first optics park in Maharashtra. ii.The project is expected to start in 2028 and will continue till 2035. iii.It will also create a technology hub for defence, space, automotive, semiconductor and other applications. |
| Essar Renewables Limited (ERL) | Rs.8,000 crore | i.Develop 2 Gigawatt (GW) of renewable energy capacity for its green mobility initiative. Support the Electric Vehicle truck charging ecosystem of Blue Energy Motors and Greenline. ii.The projects will start in the fiscal year 2026-27. |
| JSW Group | Rs.3 trillion | i.Investment made in 3 regions of Maharashtra including naxal-infested Gadchiroli. ii.The investments will include integrating steel manufacturing capacities with clean green technology, green energy projects, advanced manufacturing units for new-age electric vehicles and high-performance EV batteries and strengthening the solar energy ecosystem. |
| Salam Kisan | Rs.300 crore | i.Invest in ‘Drone-as-a-Service’ (DaaS) initiative over the next seven years which will involve manufacturing drones, setting up training centres and creating a network of 2,00,000 trained Drone Service Providers (DSPs). ii.Maharashtra will co-invest Rs 300 crore to support infrastructure and training in Marathwada. iii.Aim to integrate drone technology into farming practices, covering 5 million acres annually by 2030. iv.Microsoft will act as a technology partner providing Artificial Intelligence (AI), machine learning and cloud computing solutions in agricultural practices. |
| Tembo Defence Products Private Limited | Rs1,000 crore | To strengthen defense sector in Maharashtra by building strong defense infrastructure. To generate 300 new job opportunities. |
| Taural India Private Limited | Rs. 500 crores | i.To expand the company’s modern manufacturing facility in Supa, Ahilya Nagar, Maharashtra. ii.Help to boost industrial growth and create job opportunities. |
| Economic Explosives Limited | Rs.12,780 crores | i.Develop an Anchor Mega Project. ii.It falls under the “Thrust Sector Incentive Scheme” of the Maharashtra government iii.Inlcudes increase of defence products such as Propellant, War head explosives, Ammunitions, Defence electronics, Drones and UAVs, New Generation Explosives, Energetic binders and new products such as Military transport aircraft. |
| Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) | USD 40 billion (around Rs 3.5 lakh crore) | i.Crossrail International (UK) and University of Birmingham Centre for Railway Research and Education (UK) – Strategic study to optimise and to achieve sustainable urban transport in MMR. ii.Brookfield Corporation (Canada) (USD 12 billion), Blackstone Inc. (USA) (USD 5 billion), Temasek Capital Management (Singapore) (USD 5 billion) and Sumitomo Realty & Development (Japan) (USD 5 billion) – for urban, regional, and infrastructure development. iii.Hiranandani Group (India + Dubai) (USD 6 billion), K Raheja Corp Pvt. Ltd. (India + Singapore) (USD 5 billion), Everstone Group (Singapore) (USD 1 billion)- investment to boost the economy. iv.Sotefin Bharat Pvt. Ltd. (India + Switzerland) – USD 1 billion investment to improve parking solutions in the region. v.MTC Business Pvt. Ltd. + Mitsui (India + Japan) – Develop a Circular Economy Park in MMR |
Others:
- Other companies that have decided to invest in Infrastructure sector are Blackstone Inc ( Rs.43,000 crore), Temasek Capital Management Pte. Ltd. ( Rs.43,000 crore), K Raheja Corporation ( Rs.43,000 crore) and Sumitomo Realty & Development Company Limited, a leading comprehensive real estate developer in Japan, which will also invest Rs.43,000 crore.
- Reliance Group, which has committed Rs.3.05 lakh crore for investments across petrochemicals, polyester, renewable energy, bioenergy, green hydrogen, green chemicals, retail, telecommunications, data centers, industrial development, hospitality, and real estate.
- One of the key agreements includes MSN Holdings Ltd, which plans to establish an advanced lithium battery and cell manufacturing project under the state’s ‘Ultra Mega Project’ initiative. The project, requiring an investment of Rs.14,652 crore.
Click Here to View part I of Highlights of WEF 2025
About World Economic Forum(WEF):
President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO)- Børge Brende(Norway)
Headquarters– Cologny, Switzerland
Founded– 1971
