Ashwini Vaishnaw meets IBM and Meta Chiefs at Davos; highlights India's semiconductor and AI growth

Davos [Switzerland], January 21 (ANI): Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw met with IBM CEO Arvind Krishna and Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan at the World Economic Forum in Davos to discuss India's growing role in the global technology landscape.
Sharing the development in a post on X, Vaishnaw stated, "The world looks at Bharat as a key driver of global innovation. Met Mr. Arvind Krishna, CEO, @IBM and Mr. Joel Kaplan, Chief Global Affairs Officer, @Meta."(ANI)
Discussions included safety of social media users from deepfakes and AI-generated content. Meta briefed the Minister on its efforts to protect users.
Collaboration with IBM will strengthen India's efforts in advanced chip technology (including 7 nm and 2 nm). It will also help in further developing the semiconductor talent pool in India.
Earlier, Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Tuesday that India is building a complete semiconductor ecosystem and that the global industry sees the country as an increasingly reliable supply-chain partner.
In a post on X, Vaishnaw was seen holding meetings at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos.
He said, "Bharat is building a complete semiconductor ecosystem covering design, fabrication, packaging, materials, gases and equipment."
"Global industry sees Bharat as an increasingly reliable supply-chain partner," he added.
He further highlighted that Google is strengthening its commitment to India's AI ecosystem, including a USD 15 billion AI data centre in Vizag & partnerships with Indian startups.
Earlier, Vaishnaw had noted that 46 component manufacturing projects, alongside manufacturers of laptops, servers, and hearables, established electronics as a major driver of the manufacturing economy. He also stated that four semiconductor plants will start commercial production in 2026.
"The electronics manufacturing sector now supports 25 lakh jobs, with several factories employing more than 5,000 people at a single site. Some plants currently employ as many as 40,000 employees in a single location," he said.
As per the recent government statement, India is rapidly advancing its semiconductor ambitions, recognising semiconductor chips as critical enablers of healthcare, transport, communications, defence, space, and emerging digital infrastructure.
With accelerating digitalisation and automation, global demand for semiconductor chips is rising sharply. In response, the Government of India, through the Semicon India Programme and the India Semiconductor Mission (ISM), is strengthening the domestic semiconductor ecosystem and supply chain.
Google has also recently announced a massive investment of USD 15 billion over the next five years to establish a gigawatt-scale Artificial Intelligence (AI) hub in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, the company's largest AI hub outside the United States.
The 56th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) is being held from January 19 to 23, 2026, at Davos-Klosters, welcoming nearly 3,000 participants from over 130 countries, including a record number of world leaders, CEOs, innovators and policymakers, under the theme "A Spirit of Dialogue." (ANI)