“India-UK economic relations are strong and vibrant, but there still remains considerable potential that needs to be tapped,” said HE Dinesh Patnaik, Acting High Commissioner of India to the UK. “India is keen to work with UK to ensure that the positive effects of Brexit are enhanced and negative effects are minimised. The forthcoming visit of Prime Minister Theresa May to India, following the highly successful visit of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi last year, will give a fillip to economic and commercial relations between both countries,” he added.
He was speaking at a session on “Going Global: Doing Business in India” organised by the CII in collaboration with the Brexit & Global Expansion Summit and UKIBC on 17 October in Greenwich, where business leaders and industry experts discussed specific areas of opportunity between the two countries. The session assumed special significance in light of the announcement of Prime Minister Theresa May’s upcoming visit to India in November, accompanied by a business delegation from the UK.
At the discussion, Parul Anand, Director – Tax, Deloitte made a presentation on the Goods & Services Tax (GST) and how implementation of GST can transform business activity across the country. A business panel comprising of David Landsman, Executive Director, Tata Limited; Philip Bouverat, Director, JCB; Anand Shah, Vice President – Albright Stonebridge Group (India and South Asia Practice) and David Golding, Head of European and Global Engagement, Innovate UK discussed specific opportunities for India-UK cooperation smart cities development and urban regeneration, transport systems, food processing, healthcare management, automotive manufacturing as well as Fintech as a major emerging area. They encouraged companies to go to India on trade missions not just to ensure their presence and participation, but to forge concrete partnerships for business growth.
“The UK is the third-largest investor in India and the first among G20 countries. India has also emerged as the third-largest FDI investor in the UK and in fact, the second-largest in London. Given such strong business linkages, India and the UK are clearly very important partners in the global economic landscape. The India-UK TECH Summit which will be held from 7 - 9 November in Delhi will offer a concrete platform for business collaboration and networking for UK companies looking at India as a market,” said Shuchita Sonalika, Director – UK, CII.
Kevin McCole, Chief Operating Officer, UKIBC said, With the UK moving towards Brexit, the significance of the UK-India economic relationship is, quite rightly, in sharp focus. The investment opportunities in India have long been recognised. And, on the face of it, UK-India trade is performing well - growing at 170% between 2004 and 2014. But as India’s overall trade grew by 800% in the same period, there is clearly tremendous potential. One step towards realising this potential is for UK businesses to see India as an export market. There is business to be won there as the UK has what India needs - from consumer goods through to the world-leading technology, know-how and finance.”
