Don't go to Davos. They know everything anyway.

"This year, we have chosen the theme, Power of India. We believe India reflects the power of democracy, the power of demography, leadership, opportunity and talent," said Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal when asked about attending the annual jamboree of the World Economic Forum (WEF) at Davos in Switzerland. The minister has over "50 engagements" with other leaders where he will have "several dialogues around the investment opportunity, sustainability, industry and manufacturing potential". Foreigners will of course listen politely but will they believe? "Now, stagflation looms as the economy grinds towards its slowest expansion in more than a decade and inflation spikes above the central bank target, driven by higher food prices," wrote Anirban Nag for Bloomberg. US company Walmart bought online retailer Flipkart for $16 billion last year and paid nearly Rs 80 billion in taxes to the government following which the government changed the rules of e-commerce, apparently to protect bricks-and-mortar retail stores, known as 'kirana stores'. Naturally, Walmart was most unhappy and complained to the US government, which under President Donald Trump, wants to "Make America Great Again" (MAGA). The minister snubbed Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos who offered to invest $1 billion in India. "They may have put in a billion dollars," said the minister. "But then if they make a loss of a billion dollars every year then they jolly well have to finance that billion dollars. So it's not as if they are doing a great favor to India when they invest a billion dollars." "Top executives at several multinational and Indian companies on Thursday took umbrage at commerce minister Piyush Goyal's comment..." The minister wants to know why e-commerce giants are making such huge losses. "Clearly there is an element of pricing control or predatory pricing," he feels. Strange he did not use such strong words, or any words at all, on the predatory pricing by Reliance Jio which has driven Vodfone Idea to the brink of collapse. Call charges have soared in recent months as telecom companies look to survive. "When Amazon gives you these incredible sales, it is doing you a favor, not preying on you," wrote Amit Varma. If the government stops Amazon from doing that, it is the government that is predatory. The real reason is that Washington Post, also owned by Bezos, has been critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the minster feels obliged to defend the Supreme Leader. French economist Guy Sorman said that currently, both local and foreign investors are frightened and do not want to invest in India. The minister is to cut the amount of duty free goods that people can bring in when they return from foreign trips, in an effort to conserve foreign exchange. Surely, the minister can save an awful lot of foreign currency by canceling his enormously expensive trip to Davos? It's of no use anyway. They know.