India United Kingdom Relations and India UK Friendship
India’s bilateral relations and friendship with the UK has intensified since its upgradation to a strategic partnership in 2004. There have been continuous exchanges of visits at the level of Prime Minister. The visit of PM David Cameron to India in July 2010 saw the relations elevated to ‘Enhanced Partnership for the Future’. The UK supports permanent membership of India in the UNSC and is also an important interlocutor for India in the EU, G8, G20 and global contexts.
UK COALITION GOVERNMENT’S APPROACH TOWARDS INDIA
2. The new coalition government in the UK led by Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a ‘new special relationship’ with India. This phrase was first used by David Cameron during his visit to India in October 2006 and then had found expression in the Conservative Party manifesto and subsequently the ‘Coalition Programme’. The Queen’s speech on 25 May 2010 mentioned about the desire of an
‘enhanced partnership’ with India.
VISIT OF UKPM DAVID CAMERON TO INDIA – JUL 2010
3.Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by a large delegation, paid a State Visit to India in July 2010. Summit level talks were held between the two Prime Ministers on 29 July. It was agreed to elevate the relations to “Enhanced Partnership for the Future”. It was also agreed to substantially increase trade and significantly increase investments between the two countries. The two leaders agreed to establish India-UK CEOs Forum and an India-UK Infrastructure Group. They welcomed the new opportunities that had opened up for cooperation in the civil nuclear power sector. Several understandings were reached to enhance all round cooperation including in S&T, Defence and to promote greater people to people contacts.
4. To sum up, following decisions were taken during the visit of PM Cameron:
i. Establishment of India-UK CEO Forum – 6 members of the CEO Forum from the Indian side led by Mr. Ratan Tata have been nominated. The nomination of other members is still under consideration. The first meeting of the Forum took place in London on 3 Feb 2011 in the presence of Hon'ble CIM and his UK counterpart Mr. Cable.
ii. British India Infrastructure Group (BIIG) – From the Indian side the BIIG is being led by Secretary, DEA. The Indian proposal to have a Permanent Under Secretary in the Department of Business Innovation and Skills to head the British side has been accepted by the British side. The group met in New
Delhi on 19 January 2011.
iii. Cooperation in civil nuclear power sector – Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. Srikumar Banerjee visited London in September 2010. He felt that consultancy and planning could be the areas of synergy in terms of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. Hindustan Construction Company is
looking for partners in the construction of nuclear power plants. A bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement was earlier signed in February 2010. It is an umbrella agreement for cooperation in civil nuclear sector.
iv. Launching of UKIERI-II – In the sector of education, UKIERI-I was launched covering the first phase from 2006-2011. This helped establishing over 400 collaborative ventures between Indian and British universities and schools. UKIERI-II for the period from 2011-2015 was agreed to in November 2010 during the visit of Mr. David Willets MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, to be effective from April 2011.
v. Collaboration between Department of Biotechnology and Welcome
Trust, London – A meeting was held in Department of Biotechnology in
January 2011 with Secretary, Expenditure in Chair.
vi. UK-India Future Leaders Network (UKIFL) – The Advisory Group of UKIFL will provide strategic support to the initiative. The Group will form a core selection committee which will select the first 20 Indians and 20 British young leaders of the initiative. The key activities for the year 2011 will include selection of candidates as members of the network.
vii. Cooperation in Transport Sector – An MoU for Cooperation in Transport was signed on 27 September 2010 during the visit of Minister for Surface Transport, Shri Kamal Nath.
viii. MOU on India-UK Cultural Cooperation – The MoU is expected to provide a framework for a significant expansion of the cultural exchange between India and the UK. Ministry of Culture is collating responses from various agencies under it including Ministry of I&B after circulating the MoU.
OTHER VISITS FROM THE UK
5. The UK Immigration Minister Mr Damian Green visited India from 23-25 August, 2010 and met with Shri Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Smt Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab and Shri Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri M Ramachandran, Minister of State in MHA as part of the broader consultation process on the UK’s immigration policy.
6.HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited India from 2-5 October, 2010 to represent Her Majesty the Queen at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The Earl of Wessex, who is also the vice- patron of the CWG, was also in India for the Opening Ceremony. The Archbishop of Canterbury was on a visit to India from 8 October, 2010 at the invitation of the churches of North and South India. During the visit, the Archbishop met with Vice President of India and the Prime Minister.
7.The Lord Mayor of the City of London Mr Nick Anstee led a business delegation to India from 29 October to 1 November 2010. The focus of his visit was on capital markets, infrastructure finance and banking. UK Minister for Universities and Science Mr David Willets visited India in November, 2010 as the joint guest of honour to launch National Education Day at the invitation of Human Resource Development Ministry. Mr Andrew Mitchell, UK Secretary of State for International Development visited India from 24-27 November, 2010. UK Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox visited India on 22-23 November, 2010 for enhanced defence cooperation. Dr. Vincent Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills visited India in January 2011 to attend the JETCO meeting on 19 January 2011. The Minister for Defence Equipment Peter Luff visited India to attend the Aero India show in Feb’11. High-level meetings
8. Earlier, the President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil paid a State Visit to the UK from 26-29 October 2009. This was the third State visit by an Indian President to the UK. The President had detailed interactions with the Queen and other Royal family members and wide ranging meetings with the UK leadership.
9. There have been regular exchanges of visits at the Prime Ministerial level. The groundwork for strategic partnership between the two countries was laid when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in September 2004 and they adopted a joint declaration titled ‘India-UK: towards a new and dynamic partnership’ which envisages annual Summits and regular meetings between Foreign Ministers. It also outlines areas for future cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space, defence, combating terrorism, economic ties, science & technology, education and culture. Thereafter, Tony Blair visited India in September 2005 and PM Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the UK in October 2006. Dr. Manmohan Singh also met with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London in 2009 in the sidelines of the G 20 Summit.
10. There have also been regular exchanges of visits at Ministerial level. Recent Ministerial visits include: Minister of Human Resource Development, Sh. Kapil Sibal led a delegation to London in January 2010 for bilateral talks on education cooperation. Home Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram visited London in March 2010. Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Sh. Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Sheffield in UK in June 2 to sign MOU between Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and the Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited. Dr. Veerappa Moily Minister of Law and Justice visited UK at the invitation of his counterpart during 5-9 July 2010. Shri Kamal Nath, Minister for Road Transport and Highways visited London in September 2010 and during the visit an MOU was signed on Cooperation in the Road Transport and Road Sector. Shri Murli Deora, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas visited London on 06-10 October, 2010. Shri Anand Sharma visited London first during 8-9 October 2010 and again on 3-4 Feb’11. Shri Sachin Pilot, MOS for Communication & IT visited London leading an electronics delegation from 06-08 December 2010.
Foreign Office Consultations
11. There is an established mechanism of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC). The last round of FOC was held in New Delhi in March 2010. The next round is scheduled to be held in London in March 2011.
Parliamentary Exchanges
12. The Parliaments of India and the UK enjoy traditionally close relations. An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Hon’ble Speaker Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar visited the UK from 17-19 January 2011.
13. Institutional linkages with all the major British political parties have been established. There are Friends of India Group in all the three major political parties. Labour Friends of India (LFIN) was formed in 1999 and Mr. Barry Gardiner is the present Chair. The group has paid seven visits to India, the last being in February
2008.
14. The Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India (CFIN) was launched in March 2001 and the present Chairperson is Stephen Hammond. CFIN has visited India in September- October 2003, September, 2004, January 2006, November 2008 and July-August 2009.
15. The Liberal Democrat Friends of India (LDFIN) Group was launched on September 19, 2000 and the present Chair is Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the House of Lords. LDFIN sent delegations to India in 2002, 2004 and 2005, September 2008, September 2009 and September 2010.
16. Parliamentary exchanges have also taken place under the banner of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
17. An All-Party Parliamentary Group on India holds periodic meetings. Mr Virendra Sharma, MP from Ealing Southall in the new Chairman. An All Party Parliamentary Group on Trade and Industry linkages with India was set up in 2009. Economic and Commercial Relations
18. The UK’s merchandise trade with India accounts for about 2.29% of its total world trade. India is the UK’s 18th largest market for both export and import of goods. India’s exports to UK in 2009-10 were USD 6.228 billion and the UK’s exports to India were USD 4.423 billion.
19. The UK is the 4th largest inward investor into India, after Mauritius, Singapore and the USA. The UK’s share is above 5% of the total FDI in rupee terms. The cumulative total of UK’s FDI equity in India till September 2010 stood at USD 6.212 billion.
20. The UK is among India’s major trading partners. India’s main exports to the UK were cotton and ready-made garments and textiles (17.64%), transport equipments (7.63%), spices (5.79%), ores and minerals(4.98%), manufactures of metals (4.83%), machinery and instruments (4.63%), drugs & pharmaceuticals (3.90%) and marine products (3.89%). The main imports from the UK to India, metalifers, ores and metal scraps (7.70%), pearls & semi precious stones (4.89%), professional instruments other than electronics (3.61%), non-ferrous metals (3.37%), chemicals (3.18%), and machinery (3.03%).
21. An India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was set up in 2005 to tackle trade and investment barriers on both sides and promote business links. The 7th JETCO meeting was held in New Delhi on 19th January 2011 and Dr. Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills led the UK side. Discussions were held in the four parallel sessions of the Joint Working Groups on the themes of ‘Advance Manufacturing and Engineering’, ‘Education and Skills Development’, Investment and Innovation, and Logistics. Among the sectors that were identified for focus in the sphere of bilateral trade are: i) Goods – advanced engineering goods, textiles, vegetables and fruits, marine products, processed foods, alcoholic beverages, non-GM produce like soya, chemicals, pharmaceuticals including complementary medicine; waste-to-energy technology, clean technology, energy efficiency systems, renewable energy, logistics & supply chain management, avionics & defence systems, simulation technologies, mobile broadband and digital highways; and ii) Services – software, biotechnology (R&D, information exchange and product development), university education and vocational skills, healthcare and medicine. Education
22. India is the second largest source of students studying in UK and the number of Indian students in UK is approximately 34,000. During PM Blair’s visit to India in 2005, the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) was launched with focus on higher education and research, schools and professional and technical skills. The bilateral cooperation in the education sector got a platform with the setting up of India-UK Education Forum in 2008 during PM Gordon Brown’s visit. The third meeting of the Forum took place in Delhi in November 2010 at Ministerial level during the visit of UK Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts during which MOU on 2nd phase of UKIERI was also signed which will focus on Leadership; Innovations Partnerships; Skills Development and Mobility and Mutual Recognition. It will be implemented from April 2011 over the next 5 years.
India UK Defence
23. India has participated in Air Shows in UK and joint exercises are held by the Army and Tabletop joint exercices by the Navy. The 13th India-UK Defence Consultative Group was held on 11th January 2011 in London. There have been regular visits of the three Service Chiefs of both sides. India-UK Civil Nuclear Cooperation
24. India and UK signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement on 11 February 2010 which will effectively help both countries to achieve low carbon growth. Science & Technology
25. The ‘Science and Innovation Council’ is the main framework within which India- UK Science & Technology cooperation operates. The last meeting of the Council took place in India in February 2010 during visit of UK Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Mr. Pat McFadden. During his visit, the two sides announced two multi-million pound research programmes to develop cost-effective and efficient solar energy solutions.
Immigration – new measures announced by the UK government
26. The new coalition government in the UK that took charge in May 2010 announced that they would set a numerical limit on non-EU migrants to the UK, bringing down numbers of immigrants. The cap would be effective from April 2011. The British Government announced its migration policy in November 2010. Salient
points of the policy are as under :
i. Numerical annual cap in Tier-I are introduced at 1000 immigrants. Researchers and scientists would be considered in Tier-I, with the endorsement from a competent British body. The category will also include wealthy investors and entrepreneurs. Unlike in the past, immigrants under Tier-I would require specific
job offer.
ii. An annual limit of 20,700 Tier-II immigrants in 2011-2012. The new rules require a minimum qualification of graduation. This category would be considered according to the scarcity of the skills in the UK labour market, based on a shortage list drawn up by UK Border Agency (UKBA) and placed on its website. The levels of English language proficiency would be elevated (except for Intra- Company Transferees and elite sportsmen and women).
iii. Intra-Company Transfers will be exempt from any limits. However, the new rules would restrict their movement by the following :
a. Raising the threshold of annual compensation including allowances to a minimum of 40,000 Pounds per annum to seek long term visa upto 5 years.
b. 24,000 Pounds per annum (including allowances) to seek working visa for upto 12 months.
Consular
27. High Commission of India in London and Indian Consulates in Birmingham and Edinburgh issued a total of 4,84,229 visas, 54,507 passports and 59,396 OCI/PIO cards in 2010 generating a revenue of approx. £38 million. Visa collection and delivery is done through eight visa centres at Victoria, Goswell, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Hayes, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. Visa applications are handled by VFS (UK) Ltd.
INDIA UK Tourism
28. The UK ranks number two in the world in terms of tourists visiting India. India received 292,000 tourists from the UK in 2009. Around 500,000 Indians visit UK every year. An India Tourism Office is based in London. In all, 131 weekly flights between India and the UK are operated by Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
INDIA UK Culture
29. The Nehru Centre is the cultural outreach of the High Commission of India in UK. Established in 1992, it is among the most active of India’s cultural centres abroad and has, over the years, emerged as a premier institution engaged in India’s cultural interface with U.K. The Centre organises a wide range of cultural evenings at its premises, showcasing Indian music, dance and theatre, besides a range of activities aimed at strengthening and deepening the intellectual dialogue between the two countries, such as exhibitions, lectures, illustrated talks, book launches, film screenings, seminars and round tables. The cultural events in 2010 included Geeta Chandran’s Bharatanatyam performance in 6 cities, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma’s santoor concert in Newcastle; Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s flute concert in London, Sharmila Tagore’s Film Retrospective in 3 cities and a photo exhibition ‘History in the Making’ on India’s Freedom Movement. Other events included special celebrations on Punjab, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and lectures / book launches by distinguished speakers like Dr. Karan Singh, Gopalkishna Gandhi, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Meghnad Desai, John Marr, Gurinder Chadha and Rishi Kapoor. An MOU on cultural cooperation was signed in July 2010.
PIOs , NRIs in UK
There are around 2 million people of Indian-origin in the UK. Seven Non Resident Indian youths have made it to a list of the most successful young millionaire entrepreneurs in UK. The present Parliament has six MPs and twenty two Peers of Indian origin in the House of Lords. In addition, there are over 250 Indian origin Councillors duly elected across UK.
UK COALITION GOVERNMENT’S APPROACH TOWARDS INDIA
2. The new coalition government in the UK led by Prime Minister David Cameron has called for a ‘new special relationship’ with India. This phrase was first used by David Cameron during his visit to India in October 2006 and then had found expression in the Conservative Party manifesto and subsequently the ‘Coalition Programme’. The Queen’s speech on 25 May 2010 mentioned about the desire of an
‘enhanced partnership’ with India.
VISIT OF UKPM DAVID CAMERON TO INDIA – JUL 2010
3.Prime Minister David Cameron, accompanied by a large delegation, paid a State Visit to India in July 2010. Summit level talks were held between the two Prime Ministers on 29 July. It was agreed to elevate the relations to “Enhanced Partnership for the Future”. It was also agreed to substantially increase trade and significantly increase investments between the two countries. The two leaders agreed to establish India-UK CEOs Forum and an India-UK Infrastructure Group. They welcomed the new opportunities that had opened up for cooperation in the civil nuclear power sector. Several understandings were reached to enhance all round cooperation including in S&T, Defence and to promote greater people to people contacts.
4. To sum up, following decisions were taken during the visit of PM Cameron:
i. Establishment of India-UK CEO Forum – 6 members of the CEO Forum from the Indian side led by Mr. Ratan Tata have been nominated. The nomination of other members is still under consideration. The first meeting of the Forum took place in London on 3 Feb 2011 in the presence of Hon'ble CIM and his UK counterpart Mr. Cable.
ii. British India Infrastructure Group (BIIG) – From the Indian side the BIIG is being led by Secretary, DEA. The Indian proposal to have a Permanent Under Secretary in the Department of Business Innovation and Skills to head the British side has been accepted by the British side. The group met in New
Delhi on 19 January 2011.
iii. Cooperation in civil nuclear power sector – Chairman of Atomic Energy Commission, Dr. Srikumar Banerjee visited London in September 2010. He felt that consultancy and planning could be the areas of synergy in terms of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. Hindustan Construction Company is
looking for partners in the construction of nuclear power plants. A bilateral civil nuclear cooperation agreement was earlier signed in February 2010. It is an umbrella agreement for cooperation in civil nuclear sector.
iv. Launching of UKIERI-II – In the sector of education, UKIERI-I was launched covering the first phase from 2006-2011. This helped establishing over 400 collaborative ventures between Indian and British universities and schools. UKIERI-II for the period from 2011-2015 was agreed to in November 2010 during the visit of Mr. David Willets MP, Minister of State for Universities and Science, to be effective from April 2011.
v. Collaboration between Department of Biotechnology and Welcome
Trust, London – A meeting was held in Department of Biotechnology in
January 2011 with Secretary, Expenditure in Chair.
vi. UK-India Future Leaders Network (UKIFL) – The Advisory Group of UKIFL will provide strategic support to the initiative. The Group will form a core selection committee which will select the first 20 Indians and 20 British young leaders of the initiative. The key activities for the year 2011 will include selection of candidates as members of the network.
vii. Cooperation in Transport Sector – An MoU for Cooperation in Transport was signed on 27 September 2010 during the visit of Minister for Surface Transport, Shri Kamal Nath.
viii. MOU on India-UK Cultural Cooperation – The MoU is expected to provide a framework for a significant expansion of the cultural exchange between India and the UK. Ministry of Culture is collating responses from various agencies under it including Ministry of I&B after circulating the MoU.
OTHER VISITS FROM THE UK
5. The UK Immigration Minister Mr Damian Green visited India from 23-25 August, 2010 and met with Shri Vayalar Ravi, Minister of Overseas Indian Affairs, Smt Preneet Kaur, Minister of State for External Affairs, Shri Shivraj Patil, Governor of Punjab and Shri Parkash Singh Badal, Chief Minister of Punjab, Shri M Ramachandran, Minister of State in MHA as part of the broader consultation process on the UK’s immigration policy.
6.HRH Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall visited India from 2-5 October, 2010 to represent Her Majesty the Queen at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi. The Earl of Wessex, who is also the vice- patron of the CWG, was also in India for the Opening Ceremony. The Archbishop of Canterbury was on a visit to India from 8 October, 2010 at the invitation of the churches of North and South India. During the visit, the Archbishop met with Vice President of India and the Prime Minister.
7.The Lord Mayor of the City of London Mr Nick Anstee led a business delegation to India from 29 October to 1 November 2010. The focus of his visit was on capital markets, infrastructure finance and banking. UK Minister for Universities and Science Mr David Willets visited India in November, 2010 as the joint guest of honour to launch National Education Day at the invitation of Human Resource Development Ministry. Mr Andrew Mitchell, UK Secretary of State for International Development visited India from 24-27 November, 2010. UK Defence Secretary Dr Liam Fox visited India on 22-23 November, 2010 for enhanced defence cooperation. Dr. Vincent Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills visited India in January 2011 to attend the JETCO meeting on 19 January 2011. The Minister for Defence Equipment Peter Luff visited India to attend the Aero India show in Feb’11. High-level meetings
8. Earlier, the President of India Smt. Pratibha Patil paid a State Visit to the UK from 26-29 October 2009. This was the third State visit by an Indian President to the UK. The President had detailed interactions with the Queen and other Royal family members and wide ranging meetings with the UK leadership.
9. There have been regular exchanges of visits at the Prime Ministerial level. The groundwork for strategic partnership between the two countries was laid when Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair in September 2004 and they adopted a joint declaration titled ‘India-UK: towards a new and dynamic partnership’ which envisages annual Summits and regular meetings between Foreign Ministers. It also outlines areas for future cooperation in civil nuclear energy, space, defence, combating terrorism, economic ties, science & technology, education and culture. Thereafter, Tony Blair visited India in September 2005 and PM Dr. Manmohan Singh visited the UK in October 2006. Dr. Manmohan Singh also met with former UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown in London in 2009 in the sidelines of the G 20 Summit.
10. There have also been regular exchanges of visits at Ministerial level. Recent Ministerial visits include: Minister of Human Resource Development, Sh. Kapil Sibal led a delegation to London in January 2010 for bilateral talks on education cooperation. Home Minister Sh. P. Chidambaram visited London in March 2010. Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises, Sh. Vilasrao Deshmukh visited Sheffield in UK in June 2 to sign MOU between Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited and the Sheffield Forgemasters International Limited. Dr. Veerappa Moily Minister of Law and Justice visited UK at the invitation of his counterpart during 5-9 July 2010. Shri Kamal Nath, Minister for Road Transport and Highways visited London in September 2010 and during the visit an MOU was signed on Cooperation in the Road Transport and Road Sector. Shri Murli Deora, Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas visited London on 06-10 October, 2010. Shri Anand Sharma visited London first during 8-9 October 2010 and again on 3-4 Feb’11. Shri Sachin Pilot, MOS for Communication & IT visited London leading an electronics delegation from 06-08 December 2010.
Foreign Office Consultations
11. There is an established mechanism of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC). The last round of FOC was held in New Delhi in March 2010. The next round is scheduled to be held in London in March 2011.
Parliamentary Exchanges
12. The Parliaments of India and the UK enjoy traditionally close relations. An Indian Parliamentary Delegation led by Hon’ble Speaker Lok Sabha Smt. Meira Kumar visited the UK from 17-19 January 2011.
13. Institutional linkages with all the major British political parties have been established. There are Friends of India Group in all the three major political parties. Labour Friends of India (LFIN) was formed in 1999 and Mr. Barry Gardiner is the present Chair. The group has paid seven visits to India, the last being in February
2008.
14. The Conservative Parliamentary Friends of India (CFIN) was launched in March 2001 and the present Chairperson is Stephen Hammond. CFIN has visited India in September- October 2003, September, 2004, January 2006, November 2008 and July-August 2009.
15. The Liberal Democrat Friends of India (LDFIN) Group was launched on September 19, 2000 and the present Chair is Lord Navnit Dholakia, Deputy Leader of the House of Lords. LDFIN sent delegations to India in 2002, 2004 and 2005, September 2008, September 2009 and September 2010.
16. Parliamentary exchanges have also taken place under the banner of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
17. An All-Party Parliamentary Group on India holds periodic meetings. Mr Virendra Sharma, MP from Ealing Southall in the new Chairman. An All Party Parliamentary Group on Trade and Industry linkages with India was set up in 2009. Economic and Commercial Relations
18. The UK’s merchandise trade with India accounts for about 2.29% of its total world trade. India is the UK’s 18th largest market for both export and import of goods. India’s exports to UK in 2009-10 were USD 6.228 billion and the UK’s exports to India were USD 4.423 billion.
19. The UK is the 4th largest inward investor into India, after Mauritius, Singapore and the USA. The UK’s share is above 5% of the total FDI in rupee terms. The cumulative total of UK’s FDI equity in India till September 2010 stood at USD 6.212 billion.
20. The UK is among India’s major trading partners. India’s main exports to the UK were cotton and ready-made garments and textiles (17.64%), transport equipments (7.63%), spices (5.79%), ores and minerals(4.98%), manufactures of metals (4.83%), machinery and instruments (4.63%), drugs & pharmaceuticals (3.90%) and marine products (3.89%). The main imports from the UK to India, metalifers, ores and metal scraps (7.70%), pearls & semi precious stones (4.89%), professional instruments other than electronics (3.61%), non-ferrous metals (3.37%), chemicals (3.18%), and machinery (3.03%).
21. An India-UK Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO) was set up in 2005 to tackle trade and investment barriers on both sides and promote business links. The 7th JETCO meeting was held in New Delhi on 19th January 2011 and Dr. Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills led the UK side. Discussions were held in the four parallel sessions of the Joint Working Groups on the themes of ‘Advance Manufacturing and Engineering’, ‘Education and Skills Development’, Investment and Innovation, and Logistics. Among the sectors that were identified for focus in the sphere of bilateral trade are: i) Goods – advanced engineering goods, textiles, vegetables and fruits, marine products, processed foods, alcoholic beverages, non-GM produce like soya, chemicals, pharmaceuticals including complementary medicine; waste-to-energy technology, clean technology, energy efficiency systems, renewable energy, logistics & supply chain management, avionics & defence systems, simulation technologies, mobile broadband and digital highways; and ii) Services – software, biotechnology (R&D, information exchange and product development), university education and vocational skills, healthcare and medicine. Education
22. India is the second largest source of students studying in UK and the number of Indian students in UK is approximately 34,000. During PM Blair’s visit to India in 2005, the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) was launched with focus on higher education and research, schools and professional and technical skills. The bilateral cooperation in the education sector got a platform with the setting up of India-UK Education Forum in 2008 during PM Gordon Brown’s visit. The third meeting of the Forum took place in Delhi in November 2010 at Ministerial level during the visit of UK Minister for Universities and Science, David Willetts during which MOU on 2nd phase of UKIERI was also signed which will focus on Leadership; Innovations Partnerships; Skills Development and Mobility and Mutual Recognition. It will be implemented from April 2011 over the next 5 years.
India UK Defence
23. India has participated in Air Shows in UK and joint exercises are held by the Army and Tabletop joint exercices by the Navy. The 13th India-UK Defence Consultative Group was held on 11th January 2011 in London. There have been regular visits of the three Service Chiefs of both sides. India-UK Civil Nuclear Cooperation
24. India and UK signed a Civil Nuclear Cooperation Agreement on 11 February 2010 which will effectively help both countries to achieve low carbon growth. Science & Technology
25. The ‘Science and Innovation Council’ is the main framework within which India- UK Science & Technology cooperation operates. The last meeting of the Council took place in India in February 2010 during visit of UK Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Mr. Pat McFadden. During his visit, the two sides announced two multi-million pound research programmes to develop cost-effective and efficient solar energy solutions.
Immigration – new measures announced by the UK government
26. The new coalition government in the UK that took charge in May 2010 announced that they would set a numerical limit on non-EU migrants to the UK, bringing down numbers of immigrants. The cap would be effective from April 2011. The British Government announced its migration policy in November 2010. Salient
points of the policy are as under :
i. Numerical annual cap in Tier-I are introduced at 1000 immigrants. Researchers and scientists would be considered in Tier-I, with the endorsement from a competent British body. The category will also include wealthy investors and entrepreneurs. Unlike in the past, immigrants under Tier-I would require specific
job offer.
ii. An annual limit of 20,700 Tier-II immigrants in 2011-2012. The new rules require a minimum qualification of graduation. This category would be considered according to the scarcity of the skills in the UK labour market, based on a shortage list drawn up by UK Border Agency (UKBA) and placed on its website. The levels of English language proficiency would be elevated (except for Intra- Company Transferees and elite sportsmen and women).
iii. Intra-Company Transfers will be exempt from any limits. However, the new rules would restrict their movement by the following :
a. Raising the threshold of annual compensation including allowances to a minimum of 40,000 Pounds per annum to seek long term visa upto 5 years.
b. 24,000 Pounds per annum (including allowances) to seek working visa for upto 12 months.
Consular
27. High Commission of India in London and Indian Consulates in Birmingham and Edinburgh issued a total of 4,84,229 visas, 54,507 passports and 59,396 OCI/PIO cards in 2010 generating a revenue of approx. £38 million. Visa collection and delivery is done through eight visa centres at Victoria, Goswell, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Hayes, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. Visa applications are handled by VFS (UK) Ltd.
INDIA UK Tourism
28. The UK ranks number two in the world in terms of tourists visiting India. India received 292,000 tourists from the UK in 2009. Around 500,000 Indians visit UK every year. An India Tourism Office is based in London. In all, 131 weekly flights between India and the UK are operated by Air India, Jet Airways, Kingfisher Airlines, British Airways and Virgin Atlantic.
INDIA UK Culture
29. The Nehru Centre is the cultural outreach of the High Commission of India in UK. Established in 1992, it is among the most active of India’s cultural centres abroad and has, over the years, emerged as a premier institution engaged in India’s cultural interface with U.K. The Centre organises a wide range of cultural evenings at its premises, showcasing Indian music, dance and theatre, besides a range of activities aimed at strengthening and deepening the intellectual dialogue between the two countries, such as exhibitions, lectures, illustrated talks, book launches, film screenings, seminars and round tables. The cultural events in 2010 included Geeta Chandran’s Bharatanatyam performance in 6 cities, Pt Shiv Kumar Sharma’s santoor concert in Newcastle; Pt Hari Prasad Chaurasia’s flute concert in London, Sharmila Tagore’s Film Retrospective in 3 cities and a photo exhibition ‘History in the Making’ on India’s Freedom Movement. Other events included special celebrations on Punjab, Assam and Andhra Pradesh and lectures / book launches by distinguished speakers like Dr. Karan Singh, Gopalkishna Gandhi, Mani Shankar Aiyer, Meghnad Desai, John Marr, Gurinder Chadha and Rishi Kapoor. An MOU on cultural cooperation was signed in July 2010.
PIOs , NRIs in UK
There are around 2 million people of Indian-origin in the UK. Seven Non Resident Indian youths have made it to a list of the most successful young millionaire entrepreneurs in UK. The present Parliament has six MPs and twenty two Peers of Indian origin in the House of Lords. In addition, there are over 250 Indian origin Councillors duly elected across UK.
Not all writers are serious. Check this out https://www.paraphraseserviceuk.com/hilarious-plagiarism-jokes/ and you know what I mean.
ReplyDeleteFunny right!