The world's largest political, commercial and intellectual 'schmoozefest' as it has been dubbed among other things, has had the finest and most rarefied of all flavours, this year around. Distinctly Indian!
The World Economic Forum's (WEF) annual international summit on the Alpine slopes of Davos, in minus 18 degrees Celsius temperatures notwithstanding, had the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) together with the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion, Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Ministry of Tourism and the India Brand Equity Foundation, ready with a 'Brand India' master plan. 'India Fastest Growing Free Market Democracy' on billboards, greeted delegates and tourists alike, even as they landed at Zurich Airport. And India continued to reign on the mindscape of the five-day event, as presented by a high powered, 115 member delegation led by the Finance Minister, P. Chidambaram himself and including Commerce Minister, Kamal Nath and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia. This year's business delegation included 'young' India, the country's business elite - Reliance's Mukesh Ambani; Anand Mahindra, vice-chairman and managing director, Mahindra and Mahindra; Nandan Nilekani of Infosys;
Yogi Deveshwar of ITC; S. Ramadorai from TCS. The cream of the India delegation immediately points to a revitalising of Image India, a refocusing of energies in the country's hardsell.
And of course, that rarefied strata of glamour India, icons and country ambassadors in themselves, were present. Nita Ambani who endorses Indian style in her beautifully crafted ensembles, Anuradha Mahindra who makes a mission of showcasing the best of local couture, Parmeshwar Godrej, the closest one can get to India-Diva status…all in all, brand India at its finest.