One Nation, One Pavilion: Six Indian states to share a joint space at the World Economic Forum in Davos

The competition among Indian states to attract investments has intensified in recent years, whether it’s the Global Investors Meet in their state or the delegations they send to Davos during the World Economic Forum.

India’s states have traditionally competed fiercely at Davos, setting up individual pavilions along the promenade in the Swiss ski town during the World Economic Forum (WEF). This rivalry often resulted in states vying for larger and more prominent chalets to attract global investors and make their mark.

But this year marks a significant shift.

For the first time in years, six Indian state delegations attending the WEF next week will share space in a single pavilion, according to three sources familiar with the development.

One nation, one pavilion

“The idea is to present India as one union of states. Whether investments are coming to State A or State B, it is ultimately coming to India. All six states have agreed- whether they are BJP-ruled, allies or opposition-ruled,” a person representing a state told Moneycontrol.

A second person however said the push came from the Davos city council, which has now mandated that all states belonging to a country will share one space.

“The promenade was dotted with various Indian state pavilions in recent years, almost giving it a sense of being an India Economic Forum,” a second source said.

This person added that there was significant pushback from states, especially Congress-ruled Karnataka, which ultimately decided not to send a delegation to Davos this time.

“Andhra Pradesh has one of the largest contingents this time around and have taken additional space in the Belvedere Hotel, to make up for the lack of space in the pavilion,” a third person said.

There will be two India pavilions- one occupied by the Union Government delegation while the six states- Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Kerala will occupy different floors in the second pavilion.

Battle of the states

The competition among Indian states to attract investments has intensified in recent years, whether it’s the Global Investors Meet in their state or the delegations they send to Davos during the World Economic Forum.

The size of their individual state pavilions became a point of pride, almost serving as a proxy for how competitive or ambitious a state considered itself.

At least three Indian Chief Ministers -- Devendra Fadnavis, Chandrababu Naidu and Revanth Reddy -- will join over 100 CEOs and other leaders from India in Davos next week for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2025. Other representatives from states include Nara Lokesh and TG Bharath from Andhra Pradesh, TRB Rajaa from Tamil Nadu, Suresh Kumar Khanna from Uttar Pradesh and P Rajeev from Kerala.

The India delegation from the Centre includes Ashwini Vaishnaw, Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & IT, K. Rammohan Naidu, Union Minister of Civil Aviation, Chirag Paswan, Union Minister of Food Processing Industries, Jayant Chaudhary, Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Minister of State in the Education Department, CR Patil, Union Minister of Jal Shakti and Amardeep Singh Bhatia, Secretary, DPIIT

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