Synopsis: At World Economic Forum held in Davos, Switzerland 2026, India made a strong pitch and secured some of the biggest investments globally, with 9 states presenting themselves as a single, integrated investment market highlighting opportunities across AI, clean energy, manufacturing, and aviation. India’s position is now firmly cemented as an investment destination ready for the future.
World Economic Forum is an annual congregation of world leaders and individuals from different spheres of life held in Davos, Switzerland. At the WEF Davos 2026 event, India was considered the preferred destination for investments, while various states showcased their potential in clean energy investments, AI manufacturing businesses, logistics businesses, ports businesses, and digital businesses.
The nine participating states were Gujarat, Maharashtra, Telangana, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Assam and Jharkhand with Assam and Jharkhand making their debut at the Summit. The areas where the major emphasis would lie are digital infrastructure, clean energy, manufacturing and defence. All participating states were integrated with the National Single Window System (NSWS), a centralized digital platform designed to stream approvals of investments and clearances for investors.
Maharashtra
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis has said that the stae government has signed MoUs worth ₹30 lakhs crore at the World Economic Forum held in Davos. 83% of the agreements involve FDIs and 16% are in partnerships with foreign technologies. In total, companies from across 18 countries will be investing in Maharashtra state. This will likely create 40+ lakh job opportunities in the future. some of the major investors include Lodha Developers Limited, Open AI, Iron Mountain, Princeton Data Group, Ghostworks, Volkswagen, Coca Cola. Most of the focus of the investments will be towards developing data centers.
Projects:
- Massive Data Centre Hub: Lodha Developers pledged an investment of around ₹1 lakh crore to develop a 2.5 GW Green Data Centre Park in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, going to be one of the biggest digital infrastructures in India.
- AI & tech Node: Plans are afoot to build an innovation-focused city infrastructure near Navi Mumbai.
- AI & Capability Centre BKC: A centre to accelerate the contribution to the global research and development landscape by Maharashtra.
- Steel expansion: An upgrade of a ₹20,000 crore plant in Gadchiroli to expand the capacity for the production of steel products
- Logistics & Urban projects: Huge investments in logistics parks, mixed infrastructure, etc., under the MMRDA agreements.
Telangana
Telangana government has signed MoU to secure investments worth nearly ₹30,000 crore at the WEF 2026 at Davos. Telangana presented itself as a technology- and innovation-driven economy, with a rich digital infrastructure, an ‘AI first’ approach, the Bharat Future City programme, a mature startup ecosystem, etc., in order to attract investments from around the world in areas such as artificial intelligence, data centres, high-end manufacturing, etc. The projects have the potential to create nearly 12,000 direct and indirect jobs and strengthen the state’s manufacturing sector.
Projects:
- L’Oreal, to set up AI powered global beauty Tech Hub in Hyderabad bringing in the aspects of technology as well as research and development
- UPC Volt plans a 100MW AI-ready data centre in Bharat Future City.
- Steel Plant: Mou signed with Indian industrial conglomerate, Rashmi Group, investment worth of ₹12,500 crore to set up steel plant in Telangana.
- Schneider Electric India is planning to expand its manufacturing capacities in Telangana, enhancing its overall production capacity for electrical solutions.
- Startup Development: Mou signed with Dubai Multi Commodities Centre for startup development, cross market exposure and ecosystem building.
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh signed MoUs worth over ₹9750 crore at WEF Davos summit. Investors are mostly focussed in IT, clean energy, defence, logistics and warehousing. Coordinated by Invest UP, the government’s investment promotion and facilitation agency, a series of meetings were hold and MoUs were signed.
Projects :
- Waste to Energy projects: MoU signed with SAEL Industries Ltd worth ₹8000 crore for waste to clean energy projects
- Data Centre: Sift Technologies for AI ready Data Centres worth ₹1600 crore
- AI City in Noida worth ₹150 crore for defence manufacturing.
- Development of logistics and warehousing assets: to create supply chains that are more efficient and further the state’s distribution networks.
Karnataka
Nokia is interested in setting up GCC and research centres in Karnataka, expanding its presence beyond Bengaluru. Discussions were held with Cloudflare and US-based space and aerospace companies like Vast Space and Voyager Technologies regarding potential partnerships and expansions in the state.
Projects:
- Investment in renewable energy: The RPSG group has already invested in renewable energy schemes in the Vijapura and Ballari districts.
- Wind Power Manufacturing: facilitating the large wind power towers segment, thereby providing a boost to the clean energy space in the country by expanding the landscape
- Industrial skills development: Establish 20 more training centres in the Tier 2 cities.
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Among the early engagements, one meeting was with Tata Steel, during which the company revealed its plan of investing ₹11,000 crore in Jharkhand which involve deployment of low-carbon steelmaking technologies. Jharkhand also held discussions with Hitachi India on its possible investments in power and grid infrastructure.
Andhra Pradesh government and RMZ corporation has announced a strategic investment partnership at the WEF Meeting 2026, aimed at developing large scale mixed-use, digital, industrial and logistic infrastructure in the state.
Kerala secures investment commitments worth $14 billion or ₹1.18 lakh crore at the WEF Summit. These commitments range across sectors such as renewable energy, GCC, skill development, tourism, medical services, wellness and infrastructure.
India is speedily progressing its clean electricity expansion pipeline through the growth of large-scale solar and wind farms, seeking to significantly develop clean electricity-generating capacity. It plans to upgrade the grid infrastructure while ensuring that energy storage, such as battery storage, as well as hybrid storage options, are availed towards meeting 24×7 renewable power needs, thus increasing energy reliability in the region as a whole.
Conclusion
Davos 2026 brought alive India’s growing profile as a global investment destination, with states securing large commitments across AI, clean energy, manufacturing, and digital infrastructure. From state-led projects to a nationwide green energy push, the announcements reflect strong investor confidence in India’s policy stability, scale, and future-ready growth story. These investments are together going to spur long-term economic growth, job creation, and global integration.
Written by Boyapati Sai Jasmitha
