India steps up Davos presence as four CMs, top CEOs head to WEF 2026

Four Indian chief ministers, including Maharashtra’s Devendra Fadnavis and Andhra Pradesh’s N Chandrababu Naidu, will join more than 100 CEOs from India at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting next month.

Several Union ministers are also expected to attend the five-day meeting, scheduled to be held from January 19 to 23, 2026. The annual gathering will host nearly 3,000 global leaders from close to 130 countries, including around 60 heads of state, marking a record turnout.

Along with Fadnavis and Naidu, Telangana Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy and Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav will represent their states at the meeting. Besides these four states, a few others, including Uttar Pradesh, are expected to have a significant presence in Davos during the WEF Annual Meeting 2026, which will be held under the theme ‘a spirit of dialogue’.

The names of Union ministers scheduled to attend the meeting are expected to be announced soon.

Indian business leaders expected to be in Davos for the annual congregation include Reliance Industries Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani, Tata Group Chairman N Chandrasekaran, Bajaj Group Chairman Sanjiv Bajaj and Jubilant Bhartia Group Chairman Hari S Bhartia.

Other Indian corporate leaders expected to attend are Axis Bank Managing Director and CEO Amitabh Chaudhry, Godrej Industries Group Chairman Nadir Godrej, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal, Zerodha co-founder Nikhil Kamath, Bharti Group Chairman Sunil Bharti Mittal, Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani, Infosys CEO Salil S Parekh, Wipro Chairman Rishad Premji, Essar Group CEO Prashant Ruia, Paytm founder and CEO Vijay Shekhar Sharma and ReNew CEO Sumant Sinha.

Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia will also attend, along with several public sector undertaking heads, including GAIL Chairman and Managing Director Sandeep Kumar Gupta, State Bank of India Chairman Challa Sreenivasulu Setty, NTPC Chairman Gurdeep Singh and REC Chairman and Managing Director Jitendra Srivastava.

Global leaders attending the summit include World Bank President Ajay S Banga, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, European Central Bank President Christine Lagarde, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, UNESCO Director-General Khaled el-Enany, World Trade Organization Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala and London Mayor Sadiq Khan.

From Pakistan, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Affairs Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar, Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Pakistan Peoples Party Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari are also expected to attend.

According to the WEF, the meeting, under the theme ‘a spirit of dialogue’, will seek to provide an impartial platform connecting leaders to confront shared challenges and drive innovations shaping the future.

The discussions will focus on five global challenges where public-private cooperation can make a difference: cooperation in a more contested world, unlocking new sources of growth, investing better in people, deploying innovation at scale and responsibly, and building prosperity within planetary boundaries.

Public figures attending the summit are expected to include leaders from G7, G20 and BRICS countries, as well as heads of international organisations.