Davos 2023 Day 2 Takeaways: India Won’t Escape A Global Slowdown But Will Still Shine

On Day 2 of the World Economic Forum, BQ Prime’s conversations revealed that while Indian and global business expect the slowdown to impact emerging markets, they remain optimistic about India staying resilient.

Heads of Serum Institute of India, Bharat Forge Ltd., Dr. Reddy's Laboratories Ltd. and Tech Mahindra Ltd. expressed confidence citing order books and client conversations. PwC and Deloitte spoke about the India opportunity in a disjointed world.

Here are the key takeaways:

Amit Kalyani of Bharat Forge said the group's businesses won’t be impacted by the western slowdown. He expects tremendous demand for automotive products in 2023, driven by strong replacement sales in Europe and the U.S. In defence, governments across the world are looking at increasing dependable long-term contracts, he said. All in all, relatively stronger local demand could insulate Indian firms from a global slowdown.

GV Prasad is optimistic about pharma demand even in a slowing world. Serum Institute's Adar Poonawala said supply of critical medication was growing, and the dependence on other countries for inputs is going down. India will become nearly self-sufficient in active pharma ingredients and some other inputs in two to three years, he said.

On software exports, Tech Mahindra Ltd.'s CP Gurnani said a slow patch of growth in orders will last a quarter or two at best. He predicted a double-digit growth for software exports for the rest of the decade.

Global consultants PwC, Deloitte and BCG were equally positive on the India story. PwC's Global Chairman Bob Moritz said optimism among Indian CEOs is strong as the country has the potential to crank up growth from 6% to 8% to even double digits when there are questions around how major economies will fare.

Deloitte's Global CEO Joe Ucuzoglu said it was India's opportunity to squander if the nation could not make the most of it.

According to Borge Brende, president at WEF, bilateral meetings for the four ministers from India have the highest registrations among all others present at the WEF.

Similarly, Maharashtra's Chief Minister Eknath Shinde cited strong investor interest, reflected in the memorandums of understandings signed. While Tamil Nadu didn’t sign MoUs, the state’s Industries Minister was confident about the response he is getting at Davos.