India spent Rs 86.99L on ministers, ex-ministers, MPs hospitality in Davos: RTI

Hyderabad: A Right to Information (RTI) reply has revealed that Rs 86,99,112 was spent by the Embassy of India in Switzerland for the hospitality and transportation of ministers, ex-ministers, MPs, and officials who attended the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in Switzerland last month.

Details of the RTI response

Ajay Basudev Bose, a resident of Amravati, Maharashtra, submitted an RTI application on January 22, seeking information about the MPs, chief ministers of various states in the country, and officials along with their designation attended the WEF Conference in Davos.

The response from the Embassy of India revealed that Ministers from Railways, Civil Aviation, Food Processing Industries, Jal Shakti, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, External Affairs, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT), and the National Human Rights Commission participated in the WEF Conference.

Chief Ministers- N Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra Pradesh), A Revanth Reddy (Telangana) and Devendra Fadnavis (Maharashtra), Kerala Minister for Industries P Rajeeve and Uttar Pradesh chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh, along with their cabinet colleagues and officials concerned also participated in the WEF Conference.

The RTI response also stated that 18 members from Telangana including Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy travelled to Davos, the highest among the other states attending the WEF Conference. Kerala attended the WEF Conference with a seven-member delegation including the Minister for Industries P Rajeeve, the lowest among other states.

From Maharashtra, a 12-member delegation led by Devendra Fadnavis attended the WEF Conference. Interestingly, Nara Brahmani, wife of Andhra Pradesh Minister for IT and HRD Nara Lokesh who does not hold any portfolio in the government also traveled to Davos with the state delegation led by Chandrababu Naidu.

However, the RTI did not mentioned about the details of delegation from Tamilnadu visited the Davos.

In response to Ajay Basudev Bose’s query on the expenditure incurred by the Mission, on behalf of visiting Ministers/delegates to WEF 2025, the Embassy of India in Switzerland said that Rs 86,99,112 was spent by the Mission. For total expenditure, it also suggested Ajay Basudev Bose contact concerned Ministers/Departments in India.