The annual Davos summit, by the World Economic Forum, is currently underway. And while it has given many dynamic moments so far, something closer to home is the questions raised by people over India signing MOUs with Indian companies at the summit.
Now, it is not like this is something extremely unusual, the event, besides being a place for world leaders to gather and discuss global concerns, usually also has international investors, multinational firms and others getting together to discuss new ventures, carry out physical meetings and even sign MOUs to finalise new collaborations.
However, the news of the Maharashtra government signing 19 such agreements, especially with domestic firms, has raised a lot of questions and criticism.
Opponents have described these deals as unnecessary “status symbols” and questioned the value of travelling to the Swiss Alps to formalise agreements that could arguably be concluded within India itself.
What Is Happening For India At Davos?
Davos 2026 is the annual flagship event of the World Economic Forum (WEF) that is currently being held from January 19 to 23rd, 2026, on the theme of “A Spirit of Dialogue.” The invite-only meeting is attended by the world leaders, executives, politicians, multinational firms, organisations and more.
With the participation of G20 economies and multinational corporations, the event lays emphasis on the interconnected nature of global economic and political agendas during current times.
India’s presence at Davos this year was notable. Chief ministers from several states, including Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis, Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren, and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, were among those attending in an effort to showcase their states as attractive investment destinations.
However, instead of signing agreements with international partners, it was noticed that most of these agreements were between these state governments and Indian companies themselves.
Maharashtra signed 19 MoUs valued at around Rs 14.5 lakh crore. According to reports, the Maharashtra delegation has generated over 15 lakh jobs across sectors such as green energy, digital services, IT, infrastructure manufacturing, autmobiles and more.
The deals signed include some international companies like Japan’s Sumitomo Realty and Development and Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).
However, there were also several Indian companies, including real estate company K Raheja Corp, that signed an MOU investing $10 billion and 1,00,000 jobs and Alta Capital and Panchshil Realty that are planning to invest $25 billion, resulting in the creation of 2,50,000 jobs.
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CM Devendra Fadnavis and Mumbai-based Lodha Group’s MD and CEO Abhishek Lodha also signed a 1.3 lakh crore deal to develop a 2.5 gigawatt data centre park in the state.
All this has raised a lot of criticism from the opposition as well as the general public. Congress general secretary in charge of communications, Jairam Ramesh, posted on his X/Twitter page, writing, “The Chief Minister of Maharashtra goes to Davos and signs a MoU with a company belonging to a minister in his Cabinet. Did he have to sign it in Switzerland or is there some hidden meaning in this bizarre event?”
Congress leader Vijay Wadettiwar was also quoted by Nagpur media, saying, “If Indian companies are going abroad to sign agreements, what is the benefit? Will foreign companies actually invest in Maharashtra?”
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad also raised objections, reportedly posting on X/Twitter that “As in previous years, a large entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos merely to sign MoUs with predominantly Indian firms.”
She added, “Last year, similar agreements were made with Hiranandani and Raheja group, both based in Mumbai. Why is taxpayer money being squandered in this manner?”
Comedian Punit Pania also commented on this news, saying that “Yeh Borivali mein bhi kar sakte the (this could have been done in Borivali).”
BCCI vice president Rajeev Shukla also tweeted, saying, “It’s strange. Indians are going to Davos to meet Indians. State governments are signing agreements with Indian companies in Switzerland, which they could have done in India. CMs are meeting CMs in Davos. It’s a criminal waste of money. If they had signed agreements with foreign companies there, I would have understood.”
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Sources: Forbes, The Economic Times, The Guardian
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This post is tagged under: Davos, Davos india, Davos summit, Davos summit 2026, Davos 2026, india, india davos mous, davos conference, maharashtra government
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