Madhya Pradesh marked a commanding presence on the inaugural day of World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, positioning itself as an emergent, future ready investment destination through high stakes dialogues across technology, renewables, AI, IT, agrifood, tourism, and industry. State delegations engaged global majors like Shiru, Amara Raja, HCL Tech, Israel Innovation Authority, TouchLab, Green Energy 3000, and Peace Invest, unveiling policy stability, resource endowments, and collaborative frameworks to forge investment pipelines.
Principal Secretary Industrial Policy and Investment Promotion Raghavendra Kumar Singh catalysed breakthroughs. With Shiru’s CEO Jasmin Hume, discussions centred on AI driven protein innovation leveraging state agriculture 77% natural proteins via scalable platforms for food, cosmetics, and health applications, culminating in joint ventures with universities, crop input mapping, and pilot manufacturing. HCL Tech’s Abhay Chaturvedi explored Tier 2 tech hubs, spotlighting Global Capability Centres policy, single window clearances, IIT/NIT ecosystems, competitive leases, and skilled talent pools, with roadmap consensus for offshore centres and diaspora outreach. Israel Innovation Authority’s Dr. Alan Stopher aligned quantum tech, edtech, defence, and water solutions under G2G frameworks, greenlighting pilots and R&D co investments.
Renewable energy emerged pivotal. Minister Rakesh Shukla and Additional Chief Secretary Manu Srivastava apprised Amara Raja’s Jay Galla of Morena’s battery storage delivering 4 peak hours daily en route to 24×7 solar hybrid models, and pump storage policy, committing to data swaps for advanced solutions. Green Energy 3000’s Felix and Andreas Ranker eyed EPC, financing, and equity in state tenders, while Peace Invest’s Yusuf Merchant weighed water energy co investments for Global South impact.
Broader engagements amplified momentum. TouchLab’s Hervé Couraye targeted cybersecurity and gaming via NATRAX’s automotive testing tract and 6,000 startup ecosystem; JBIC’s Hashiyama Shigetoshi probed manufacturing and yen loans; Reliance eyed Chambal bioenergy; JioStar and National Geographic tourism branding; Bloomberg’s Sunita Rajan eyed New Economy Forum participation; IREDA’s Pradip Kumar Das financing for solar wind bio; Tech Mahindra’s Harshul Asnani Tier 2 IT/BPO expansion.
These overtures, from AI protein ventures to green storage synergies, herald Madhya Pradesh not as hinterland but vanguard resource rich, reform agile, and resolute in transmuting global partnerships into local prosperity. Sustained follow through could redefine central India’s economic trajectory.
