The City of London Corporation is to add two senior business figures to its influential India Advisory Council (IAC), as it works to progress UK-India cooperation in fintech and green finance.
Leo Puri, Managing Director at UTI Asset Management, and Sanjay Jain, Chief Innovation Officer at the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship at the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, will join the City Corporation’s now 14 strong IAC, a group which has advised the organisation on its work in India since 2007. Other members include HDFC Chairman Deepak Parekh, whose company was the first to list a Masala bond in London, and Mukesh Ambani, Chairman of Reliance Industries.
The news follows a visit to Mumbai last week by the Corporation’s Special Adviser for Asia Sherry Madera, who attended the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) General Meeting alongside the UK Chancellor of the Exchequer, Phillip Hammond.
During the meeting the AIIB committed to investing $200 million into the National Investment & Infrastructure Fund (NIIF), a fund set up by India to take interest in infrastructure projects.
Earlier this year NIIF partnered with the UK government to create the Green Growth Equity Fund, which launched with an initial £240 million fund jointly funded by the UK and Indian governments. The fund aims to increase its investment to £500 million which will be raised from institutional investors as well as a “significant investment” from UK solar power company Lightsource and Private equity firm Everstone, to invest in renewable energy and clean technology in India.
India’s green finance industry is still in development, but is growing towards its potential thanks to the efforts of organisations like the City of London Corporation. Last week the UK Government announced it will co-fund a new Green Finance Institute with the City of London Corporation to champion sustainable finance in the UK and abroad. The Institute, which will be based within the City of London Corporation, was one of the key recommendations from the Green Finance Taskforce’s report published in March.
On 17 July the City of London Corporation will hold the 2nd Green Finance Summit at its historic Guildhall. London is now the world leader for Indian Rupee-dominated Green Masala Bonds, and is home to 70% of the wider Masala Bond market.
Talking about the new IAC members, Sherry Madera, Special Adviser at the City of London Corporation said: “Leo and Sanjay are two hugely talented individuals that will bring much expertise to our already highly influential India Advisory Council.
“The World Bank estimates that India needs about $4.5 trillion in infrastructure funding by 2040, billions of which will go towards sustainable projects. The City of London Corporation’s leadership in green finance is already lending support to the country, and Leo’s introduction will only serve to further drive forward this agenda.
“Fintech is another area of UK-India cooperation the City Corporation is supporting through our tie-up with the Indian High Commission’s Access India programme. With the vast majority of transactions in India still undertaken in cash, there are tremendous opportunities for UK firms to support the drive towards demonetisation.
“With Sanjay on board, our Advisory Council not only has the brains behind the India Stack, but also one of the architects of India’s pioneering Aadhaar identity scheme.
“The future of London-India ties certainly look promising.”
Sanjay Jain, Chief Innovation Officer at the Centre for Innovation Incubation and Entrepreneurship at the IIM Ahmedabad said: “Technology is changing the world, and there are tremendous synergies between the fintech ecosystem in India and the UK.
“I am delighted to be able to support the continuing partnership between our two countries.”
The City of London Corporation has run a representative office in Mumbai since 2007 to enable long-term relationship building with financial sector stakeholders across India. Around 10-15 Indian financial firms are based in the Square Mile which the City Corporation works closely with, and there are many more based across London.
