Emerging as a sweet spot, India along with China are set to rev up world economic growth as a "new normal" of inward-looking approach raised questions over the future of globalisation at the World Economic Forum (WEF) meet in Davos, while Indian leaders listed out demonetisation as a measure owed to people in the fight against black money.
As leaders and economists debated the future of globalisation in Davos at WEF, the emerging narrative shifted to growth booster from Asia for the global economy amid darkening prospects for trade worldwide.
While asserting that the UK would retain its internationalist approach despite Brexit, Prime Minister Theresa May said the country's biggest manufacturer Tata is Indian but still there cannot be anything more British than its product Jaguar Land Rover.
India was on Thursday applauded as a major driving force alongside China for world growth with leaders and economists emphasising the need for increased regional cooperation.
Veteran banker and New Development Bank President K V Kamath said a "new normal" is emerging where many countries would prioritise an "inward look" at their national policies even as India remains in a comfortable position.
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While stating that India and China contribute a big chunk today to the global growth, he said India is in a "sweet spot" as the country absorbs investments in infrastructure, manufacturing and areas driving the consumer sector.
Against the backdrop of rising uncertainties, business leaders and economists felt that India and China have a great role to play in taking forward the Asian growth story by engaging in regional cooperation and eventually boost the global trade.
Reflecting the optimism over the two leading economies, Malaysia's Minister for International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said India and China are very important in taking forward the Asian growth story.
As the prospects for global trade seem to darken, noted economist Kishore Mahbubani said there is indeed a vacuum at the leadership position and it needs to be seen who fills it.
He also noted that ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) has a great potential though a lot of people generally focus mostly on India and China.
Making a strong defence of demonetisation, Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said the government "owed" such a step to the nation for eradicating the black money menace.
A delegation of more than 100 individuals, including ministers, government officials and business leaders, are in attendance at the WEF annual meet which has gathered under the theme 'Responsive and Responsible Leadership'.
During a panel discussion on the theme of India's turn to transform, discussions touched upon the fight against corruption and black money, including demonetisation.
Talking about demonetisation, SBI Chief Arundhati Bhattacharya said what was amazing was that there were huge crowds outside banks but still there was no riot or any loss of life due to the law and order situation.
Davos, which hosts the yearly gathering of the rich and the powerful under the umbrella of the WEF, seem to have caught the attention as well as an imagination of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari, who is now thinking of having such a city in the Himalayas.
"After coming to Davos, I felt why can't we develop a township like this in that area, where people will come in sub-zero temperatures and which will have hotels and tourism facilities and will even go to Mansarovar," the Road Transport, Highways and Shipping Minister said.
Meanwhile, WEF, government think-tank NITI Aayog, the World Intellectual Property Organisation and the Cornell University have joined hands to develop an India Innovation Index to measure the performance of Indian states.
The first ranking is expected to be released at the India Economic Summit in New Delhi on October 4-6, 2017.
"Prime Minister Modi believes that competitive and cooperative federalism is key to India's progress. This index will encourage states to compete with each other and, in turn, lead to better policies for inclusive growth," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant said.
