The first of its kind historic showcase of high-growth Indian companies in the UK was held at the Terrace Pavilion in UK Parliament on Thursday, 1st February 2018 providing parliamentarians a great opportunity to interact with several Indian business leaders and representatives from across the UK. The programme, hosted by Virendra Sharma MP, Chair of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group was organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) supported by Grant Thornton and Manchester India Partnership (MIP). Highlights of key case studies from the CII-Grant Thornton “India Meets Britain” tracker and “India in the UK: India’s business footprint in the UK” report supported by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC) and were shared on the day.
Over 100 stakeholders including Indian companies, parliamentarians, government representatives and institutional partners participated in this unique event aiming to highlight the major success stories of UK-India economic cooperation. The programme was attended by key dignitaries including Baroness Fairhead CBE, Minister of State, UK Department for International Trade, Rt Hon Matt Hancock, Secretary of State for Culture, Sports & Media, HE YK Sinha, High Commissioner of India, David Landsman, Chair, CII India Business Forum and Executive Director, Tata Limited, Lord Jim O’Neill, Andrew Cowan, CEO, Manchester Airport Group and Chair,Manchester India Partnership along with nearly 30 MPs and Peers across party lines representing various constituencies and regions of UK.
A walkthrough exhibition of Indian companies such as Tata, Tech Mahindra, HCL Technologies, ICICI, Union Bank, Hero Cycles, Air India and Varana World represented the diversity of sectors where Indian companies operate including Technology, Manufacturing, Services, Banking & Financial Services, Tourism, Fashion and Luxury products.
HE YK Sinha, High Commissioner of India emphasised the need for such interactions to highlight Indian success stories and generate more positive news about the increasing footprint of the Indian companies in the UK and the strengthening of UK-India relationship. He said, “ I am happy to note that the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group are jointly promoting Indian businesses and companies in the UK. Indian companies have contributed immensely towards the growth of the UK economy, creating wealth and a large number of jobs. These companies contribute significantly to enhancing the economic and commercial engagement between India and the UK. I would like to convey my best wishes on the launch of the Manchester India Partnership and would be happy to extend support to this initiative.”
