Davos/New Delhi:
Maharashtra, one of the largest states in India, has a huge presence at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. The team is led by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who told NDTV electric vehicles (EVs) are an area where the state has a major focus. He also called for embracing AI and not ignoring the impending disruptions.
“EVs are the future. We are getting a lot of investments in EV manufacturing. GSW, Mahindra, Toyota are building plants; many global players plan to build EVs in our state,” Mr Fadnavis said.
“Having said that, we are focussing on public transport and including a lot of EVs. The BMC (civic agency) has placed an order for 5,000 EVs. Pune already has a fleet of 1,000 EVs. The MSRTC, which is our state transport, has placed an order for 5,000 electric vehicles. The entire transition of public transport to EV is going on,” the Chief Minister said.
He said he hopes to see the entire public transport fleet to be fully green in three-four years.
Defence Manufacturing
The defence sector is something which is important obviously for a larger national perspective. Bharat Forge has a great deal of presence in Maharashtra. This is an area that is developing because India is now increasingly an exporter of weaponry.
In this context, Mr Fadnavis said that fortunately, Maharashtra has created an ecosystem for defence equipment manufacturing.
“This huge ecosystem has been created in Nagpur and other parts of Maharashtra. We have signed MoUs with Bharat Forge and other companies that are bringing FDI in defence manufacturing,” he said.
The Chief Minister said manufacturing got a boost due to the import obligation started by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which made it obligatory for companies to have parts manufactured in India.
“That started the ecosystem and now we are actually producing equipment and even exporting equipment,” he said.
Mr Fadnavis announced his government is looking to build an “Innovation City” of 100 hectares near Mumbai.
‘Can’t Shy Away From AI’
With artificial intelligence (AI) the buzzword at Davos, Mr Fadnavis pushed for accepting AI with a wide embrace and not worrying so much about AI taking away jobs.
“See, the same argument was there when computers were Introduced and a host of our leaders also used to say that ‘we are ruining our country by accepting computers’. They would say we’ll be jobless and will never progress and many arguments were put forth.
“But I always feel that you cannot shy away from technology. We are actually a globalised community and in such a community if you say that ‘I’m not using AI’, it doesn’t work. You have to. Technology is like a horse; you have to ride it. You have to know how to ride the horse.
“I think we must know that AI is the reality. AI is going to change the job market. AI is going to create new jobs. AI is going to take away some old jobs. So upskilling and reskilling and creating a human resource, which can augment these jobs is the prime responsibility of the government,” Mr Fadnavis told NDTV.
The five-day meeting at Davos that began on Monday is exploring how to relaunch growth, harness new technologies and strengthen social and economic resilience, according to the World Economic Forum. The global meeting is seeing participation by nearly 3,000 leaders from over 130 countries, including 350 governmental leaders.
India’s participation at Davos aims to strengthen partnerships, attract investment, and position the country as a global leader in sustainable development and technological innovation. India sent five Union ministers, three chief ministers, and ministers from several other states to the WEF this time.
