Global commerce is increasingly shaped by regulatory alignment, policy predictability, and institutional trust. As sanctions, climate mandates, and compliance regimes intensify, competitive advantage is shifting away from scale alone toward systems that deliver certainty and resilience. Supply chains are no longer linear networks but policy-embedded operating models, where jurisdictional credibility and execution speed determine long-term viability.
Responding to these shifts, the SARC Davos Dialogue 2026 – Ideas to Impact convened high-level, closed-door roundtables examining India’s strategic positioning within a rapidly evolving global trade environment. Day 1 focused on Roundtable 1 “Capital in a Fractured World” and Roundtable 2 “Strategic Autonomy vs. Global Interdependence,” while Day 2 advanced the discussion through Roundtable 3 on “Trade, Sanctions, and the Shadow Economy.” Building on these strategic foundations, the Dialogue moved decisively from macro-framing to execution-focused discussions, examining how India can convert regulatory credibility, federal competitiveness, and policy coherence into durable supply-chain and investment advantages.
The roundtables, anchored in a vision of resilient strategic credibility, were chaired by Sunil Kumar Gupta, Chairman & Global Leader, SARC Global. The roundtables were moderated by Ranu Gupta, Co-Founder & CEO, SARC Global; Rajat, Founder of Spandan Biotech; and Probir Roy, Global Lead – Fintech, Gaming & Frontier Technologies, SARC, facilitating focused, closed-door discussions among policymakers, industry leaders, and domain specialists. The discussions continued with the roundtables, including;
Day 2 – Roundtable 4, “India as the Next Supply-Chain Operating System,”
Tuesday, 20 January | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
The discussion examined India’s supply-chain proposition through a practical execution lens, focusing on manufacturing entry strategies, state-level readiness, land availability, approvals frameworks, and the maturity of vendor ecosystems. Participants underscored that climate alignment, policy credibility, and rapid execution are increasingly decisive in determining where global supply chains are anchored.
Day 3 – Roundtable 5, “Competitive Federalism: Which Indian States Will Win the Next Decade?”
Wednesday, 21 January | 2:00 pm – 3:30 pm
Day 3 discussions focused on accelerating investments by overseas companies and global investors into Indian states, with particular emphasis on Uttar Pradesh, Telangana, and Maharashtra. The roundtable examined how state-level regulatory design, data infrastructure, and capital access mechanisms shape the flow of long-term foreign investment and influence investor confidence at the execution level.
A key highlight was the proposal to position Uttar Pradesh as the “Delaware of India,” offering clear entry and exit pathways for foreign investors and global companies. Participants noted that such a framework could unlock risk capital across technology, mobility, gaming, AVGC/XR, Global Capability Centres (GCCs), and deep-tech sectors including medical devices, defence, space, and agritech, where regulatory certainty and capital predictability are essential for scale.
For Telangana and Maharashtra, discussions centred on leveraging data-driven governance to improve execution credibility and fund utilisation. Participants explored engagement with U.S. Silicon Valley firms to integrate telemetry and operational data from Tier-2 and Tier-3 regions into unified dashboards—enhancing real-time governance, utilisation efficiency of public funds, and access to central allocations. In parallel, the roundtable examined pathways to activate frontier-technology venture ecosystems by mobilising OCI and NRI capital through cross-border entrepreneur networks and structured SPVs.
Interventions from Amit Singh (Secretary to the Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh), alongside insights from Rajesh Khazanchi (Colortokens), Sunil Kumar Gupta (SARC), and Ankit Anand (RICEBERG Ventures), highlighted the state’s focus on strengthening institutional capacity, enhancing policy agility, and ensuring predictability across large and complex investment projects. Other speakers included Sharath (FXMaster), Prabhu Menon (UP Govt.), Shanmugam (UP Govt.), Aniruddha Kshatriya (GM, UP Invest), Vijay Goel, and Balbir Singh (Senior Advocate | Supreme Court of India), whose contributions further enriched the discussions.
Day 3 – Roundtable 6, “Regulatory Certainty as a Growth Asset,”
Wednesday, 21 January | 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm
The roundtable emphasised that clear and predictable regulatory frameworks are increasingly central to driving innovation, entrepreneurship, and long-term investment. Discussions brought together perspectives from AI, healthcare, FinTech, and real-money gaming, highlighting how regulatory complexity and abrupt policy shifts can undermine investor confidence and slow early-stage capital formation.
Participants also explored practical pathways for manufacturing entry, competitive dynamics among Indian states, and how regulatory clarity, policy credibility, and execution speed are shaping investment decisions. The roundtable concluded that while regulation is essential to safeguard public interest, regulatory certainty—anchored in clarity, consistency, and timely execution—should be treated as a strategic enabler of sustainable growth rather than a procedural requirement.
The session concluded with the consensus that while regulation is a public good and necessary, regulatory regimes must be certain in order to be viewed as a growth asset.
The discussions featured a distinguished and diverse group of policymakers, sector specialists, and global practitioners. Participants included Sunil Kumar Gupta, Saurabh Gupta; Sagar Paul; Fiona Banister; and Mrs. Sonal Ambani. The deliberations were further enriched by Dr. Prasad, Ankit Anand, Probir Roy, Sharath Putta, Rajesh Khajanchi, Rashmi Joshi, and senior legal and regulatory insights from Balbir Singh (Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India), ensuring structured, multi-sector perspectives aligned with India’s long-term growth and reform priorities.
While concluding the roundtables, Gupta highlighted:
As we conclude, it is evident that India is charting a distinctive path in the evolving global economy. By harmonising strategic autonomy with measured openness, and marrying regulatory certainty with disciplined execution, the nation is asserting itself as a trusted fulcrum in global trade, supply-chain reconfiguration, and industrial advancement. These deliberations and the resultant actions are not merely instrumental—they are the very scaffolding upon which a Viksit Bharat @2047 will be realised, securing India’s consequential imprint upon the world stage.
(India CSR)
