What will is your strategy to attract investors at Davos?

It is not just Davos; we have been consistently working to attract investment in various sectors for some time. We have a huge potential, whether it is tourism including medical tourism, mining, energy etc. We have a good land bank and strong and cheaper labour force. In Davos, our participation will be based on long-term development vision rather than short-term announcements.

Our preparedness is based on strong infrastructure base. As of date, 48 industrial parks are being developed in 19,300 acres of land. Besides these, modernisation works are being implemented in 33 parks at the cost of ₹537 crore.

We have sector-specific industrial parks such as PM MITRA Mega Textiles Park (Dhar), Medical Device Park (Ujjain), Renewable Energy Equipment Manufacturing Zones, Food Processing Clusters and MSME focused industrial areas.

All these provide plug-and-play infrastructure facilities. We are developing a multi-modal logistics park at the cost of ₹1,100 crore. Connectivity is our key structural strength. State’s central geographical location ensures reaching half of the nation’s population in shortest possible time.

We have strong rail and road connectivity. We have 8 operational airports and another one being developed in Ujjain. Our team is meeting industry leaders and investors at Davos with an effort to forge long-term partnership which will boost employment generation and inclusive growth.

States are competing with each other to attract more and more investment. What are your new initiatives to be more competitive?

Competition has been effective, especially when it is taken forward with a mix of right policy, infrastructure, full preparedness and effective implementation. In 2025, State Government implemented 18 sector-specific policies covering manufacturing, services, infrastructure, tourism and innovation.

On January 15, this year, we launched Spacetech policy which aims to provide new opportunities in communication, geo-spatial services, defence and advanced manufacturing. We are actively working on new Artificial Intelligence Policy.

States’ active participation is key to Centre’s target of $5 trillion economy by 2027, $7 trillion by 2030, $10 trillion by 2033 and $30 trillion by 2047. What are economic targets of Madhya Pradesh?

India can achieve all these goals, when States grow faster, on an inclusive and sustainable basis. Keeping this vision in mind, Madhya Pradesh has prepared its growth strategy. Under the ‘Prosperous Madhya Pradesh Vision 2047’, the State has prepared a clear roadmap to develop itself as highly performing, strong and inclusive economy in line with the vision of Developed India.

Our immediate goal is to maintain double-digit growth rate continuously and double the size of economy in next five years and we have done so during last few years. The size of our budget has gone up to ₹4.21 lakh crore from around ₹3 lakh crore. Though there has been some impact on the revenue on account of GST rate rationalisation, still our effort would be to increase the budget size, which was enlarged by around 15 per cent during last budget. We are at third position in capital expenditure among all States/UTs.

We have not cut down subsidies but at the same time efforts to increase the revenue and use the resources more prudently. For example, subsidy is given to farmers for power connection. Our thinking is rather than giving subsidy, why not give solar pump to entire 32 lakh connections in 3 years and thus we will be able to save subsidy.

Our growth strategy is based on strengthening manufacturing, modern services sector, renewable energy, agriculture & associated value chains, logistics and connectivity. Our GSDP was over ₹15 lakh crore at the end of Fiscal Year 2025-26 and we achieved a growth rate of 11 per cent.

States sign lot of MoUs during investor summit, but there is always question on how many of them actually brought on ground. What is the status here?

Our effort is not just to get intentions and signing MoUs but to bring them on ground in timely manner. Almost 30 per cent of intentions/MoUs signed have actually been on ground. Projects worth almost ₹8 to 9 lakh crore are in different stages of implementation and grounding.

In December itself, Home Minister Amit Shah dedicated and performed groundbreaking for projects within investment of over ₹2 lakh crore. We have strong monitoring, facilitation and inter-departmental co-ordination mechanism so that projects can move faster from approval to implementation.

What are your expectations from 16th Finance Commission? States are looking for higher devolution…

…we are also saying that. We are spending on infrastructure, health, education, skilling, social sector, energy transition beside others keeping national priorities in mind. A judicious, transparent and predictable devolution framework will further strengthen capability of States.

We have full confidence on Centre and in the Finance Commission and we are sure that they will provide appropriate and balanced allocation. We are not looking for any special package, rather we should get what we deserve. MP is only state where is not a single Naxalite.

Now, if we are working to develop affected districts, we expect centre to help in achieving those targets. At the same time, timely transfer of resources under various schemes, State has already spent, should be ensured.

States are facing problem of higher debt. What is your position?

We have not curtailed or closed any schemes, still we have not gone for any overdraft. Our effort is to ensure optimal utilisation of resources.

US President Donald Trump on Saturday called for an end to 37-year rule of Iran’s Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s regime, saying, “It’s time to look for new leadership in Iran,” as anti-government protests in the Islamic Republic escalate, driven by soaring inflation, economic hardship and mounting public anger over governance.

In an interview with Politico, the US President stated that they criticised Tehran’s leadership, saying they rely on violence and repression to maintain control. “What he is guilty of, as the leader of a country, is the complete destruction of the country and the use of violence at levels never seen before,” Trump said, as quoted by Politico.

“In order to keep the country functioning–even though that function is a very low level–the leadership should focus on running his country properly, like I do with the United States, and not killing people by the thousands in order to keep control,” he added. The US President further noted that “leadership” is built on respect, not “fear and death”.

Trump further denounced Khamenei personally, calling him “a sick man who should run his country properly and stop killing people,” and described Iran as “the worst place to live anywhere in the world because of poor leadership,” as reported by Politico.

His remarks come shortly after Khamenei, in a series of posts on X, blamed Trump for the unrest and casualties in Iran.

The leader of the Islamic Republic also accused Trump of misrepresenting violent groups as reflecting the will of the Iranian people, calling it “an appalling slander”.

“The US President introduced the groups who committed acts of vandalism, arson, and murdered people as ‘the Iranian nation.’ He uttered an appalling slander against the Iranian people. We find the US President guilty for this slander,” Khamenei said. “The US President sent a message to the seditionists saying he would support them and provide military support. In other words, the US President himself was involved in the sedition. These are criminal acts,” he added.

Trump’s remarks mark a continuation of the increasingly tense rhetoric between Washington and Tehran, highlighting the deepening divide over Iran’s domestic unrest and governance.

According to the Human Rights Activist News Agency (HRANA), nationwide protests in Iran have entered their twenty-first day, with internet blackouts and heavy security crackdowns continuing across the country.

Confirmed reports from HRANA state that 3,308 people have died so far during the protests, with an additional 4,382 cases still under investigation. So far, 2,107 individuals have been recorded with serious injuries, and authorities have confirmed the arrest of at least 24,266 people.

Meanwhile, Khamenei, for the first time, acknowledged that “several thousand people” have lost their lives during the unrest.

Published on January 18, 2026