India’s splashy presence at the annual World Economic Forum in Davos is sold as a global investment triumph — with claims of over ₹30 lakh crore in MoUs. But how much of this is real investment, and how much is political theatre at public expense?

In this hard-hitting analysis, Sucheta Dalal peels back the optics to reveal that most ‘mega deals’ announced at Davos are commitments by Indian conglomerates already operating in India, repackaged as international wins. With taxpayer-funded delegations, lavish state pavilions, celebrities, influencers and PR blitzes, Davos increasingly resembles a vanity project rather than a serious investment platform.

The audio also contrasts these MoUs — with low conversion rates — against the only genuinely meaningful outcome from Davos: the India-EU Free Trade Agreement. It raises uncomfortable questions about opportunity cost, accountability, and whether India really needs an expensive Swiss jamboree when states already host their own investor summits.

A must-watch for anyone questioning how public money is spent — and how economic success is marketed.

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