As the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos got underway on Monday, several Indian states announced that they had signed memoranda of understanding – with Indian companies. This led to a barrage of criticism from social media users.
They asked why Indian chief ministers had spent tax payers’ money to travel to Switzerland to hold meetings and sign agreements with Indian entities.
Nearly 3,000 delegates representing global businesses and governments from around the world are attending the event.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis announced on Tuesday that Indian entities Lodha Developers, Surajgad Ispat and K Raheja Corp were among the companies with which the state had signed MoUs.
The managing director of the Lodha Group, Abhishek Lodha, is the son of Mangal Prabhat Lodha, a minister in the Maharashtra government.
Congress MP Varsha Gaikwad from Mumbai was not impressed. She said that deal could have been sealed at the state guesthouse in Mumbai.
“Like every year, this year too a whole entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos only to sign MoUs with majority Indian companies,” Gaikwad said on X. “Last year too, MoUs with Hiranandani and Raheja group were signed in Davos, both operate out of Mumbai. Why is taxpayer money being wasted this way?”
This could have been signed at Sahyadri or Mantralaya or even the fancy office Mangal Prabhat Lodha had built for himself in the BMC isn't it?
Like every year, this year too a whole entourage has accompanied the CM to Davos only to sign MoUs with majority Indian companies. Last… https://t.co/dnOJBYgZoH
— Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad (@VarshaEGaikwad) January 20, 2026 Karnataka Commerce Minister MB Patil announced that he held a meetings Tata Group Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and officials from Tata Electronics. Patil also said that he met with the chairperson of UPL, an agrochemicals and industrial chemicals firm headquartered in Mumbai, and discussed expanding the company’s “agricultural footprint” in Karnataka.
DAVOS 2026 | STRENGTHENING THE TATA-KARNATAKA PARTNERSHIP
We fortified our long-standing alliance with the Tata Group at #WEF26 during a high-level exchange with Chairman Shri Natarajan Chandrasekaran and Tata Electronics CEO Dr. Randhir Thakur. With 1.3 lakh employees in… pic.twitter.com/gZyCZm85ao
— M B Patil (@MBPatil) January 20, 2026 The Madhya Pradesh government held a meeting with officials from Indian media company JioStar, ANI reported.
Is this a joke (at the expense of Indian taxpayers who funded MP delegates' trip to Davos to meet officials from Jiohotstar)? pic.twitter.com/ZWBFcKCRPL
— Karthik 🇮🇳 (@beastoftraal) January 20, 2026 Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu and Telangana’s Revanth Reddy are also in the Swiss city to seek investments in their states.
Naidu announced that he had met with Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sharma in Zurich.
Awwww how cute! What. Record!
Btw is it not possible for Indian leaderw to meet in India? https://t.co/L10wkPnXRv
— Lavanya Ballal Jain official (@LavanyaBallal) January 20, 2026 Many social media users said that meetings with Indian companies could have been held in India.
Journalist Swati Chaturvedi asked whether Mumbai’s acute traffic congestion had forced Fadnavis to travel to Davos to sign an MoU with a Mumbai-based builder.
Mumbai traffic so terrible that @Dev_Fadnavis has to fly to Davis in Switzerland first class with entourage at tax payer funding to sign an MoU with an Indian builder headquartered in Mumbai https://t.co/1wpVCId8eu
— Swati Chaturvedi (@bainjal) January 20, 2026 Other social media users were similar scathing.
Davos is where Indian officials and industrialists go to meet each other and the Indian media interviews the Indian delegations #TuesdayThoughtsWhileDrivingToGurgaon
— Nidhi Razdan (@Nidhi) January 20, 2026 One more Indian state. Meeting representatives of Tata Steel. In Davos. Let’s ask ourselves - could these meetings not have happened in Ranchi or Delhi? https://t.co/DKg9UYGmBh
— Sanket Upadhyay (@sanket) January 20, 2026 I am so happy that our governments are going to such lengths to sign deals. Literally. pic.twitter.com/Gaa705DJM8
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 20, 2026 Wait!!! Madhya Pradesh government is frugal compared to Maharashtra government, who went all the way to Davos to sign an MOU with a Mumbai company.
World Economic Forum should be renamed World Travel Forum. The acronym becomes more apt. pic.twitter.com/7EctGGae6v
— Ramesh Srivats (@rameshsrivats) January 20, 2026 I think future MoUs should be signed in Dahanu, not Davos. pic.twitter.com/XLHQDhVAiW
— Traveling Salesman (@def__init__e) January 20, 2026 Davos is not free.
It costs $30,000 per participant - That’s not including the boarding, security & transport
Who is paying for these ministers for what is essentially a vacation ?
Why are Indian exchequers footing the bill for this ? pic.twitter.com/1gUTSmzqUW
— RedBoxxLocal India Parody (@REDBOXINDIIA) January 19, 2026
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