Biz to be Cameron's only focus on whirlwind visit

To meet prime minister, Mamata Banerjee

As the country celebrates Children’s Day on the 124th birth  anniversary of Jawaharlal Nehru, British Prime Minister (PM) David Cameron will make a “hurricane” visit to India to strengthen business ties between the countries.

The visit, his third in two years, would focus only on business, even as he meets PM Manmohan Singh in Delhi followed by a luncheon with West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, sources told Business Standard.

During the one-day visit, Cameron is expected to raise issues concerning British business and strategic affairs with the PM. Issues concerning flagship British companies like Vodafone and Tesco are going to be high on agenda.

Vodafone has been entangled in a row with Indian tax authorities, since it acquired Hutchison Whampoa’s Indian mobile telephony business in 2007 for $10.7 billion. According to the Indian government, Vodafone has a tax liability of Rs 14,000 crore related to the acquisition. With elections looming, it seems a new government will take the final call.

While the government wants to fight the case under the Indian Arbitration and Conciliation Act, the telecom firm has asked for the case to be considered under the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law.

However, Vodafone recently sought approval to raise stake in its India unit from 64.38 per cent to 100 per cent for Rs 10,141 crore.

India, on the other hand, is going to make the case for more British investments in the country. With Walmart exiting the Indian retail market, the government is pinning its hopes on British retailer Tesco. In 2008, the company entered into a separate franchise pact with Trent, the retail arm of the Tata group. Both sides are expected to discuss a possible civil nuclear cooperation deal based on the joint declaration signed in 2010. India has inked pacts with the US, France, South Korea, Canada, Australia and others, as it aims to achieve a nuclear power capacity of 63,000 Mw by 2032 from the current 4,780 Mw.

Cameron, who will be coming with more than 20 businessmen, is likely to explore investment opportunities in West Bengal, as he meets Banerjee there. This will be the second such visit by any British PM to Kolkata in the last 16 years after former British PM John Major visited the city.

In Kolkata, Cameron will also be addressing the Indian Institute of Management to invite premium students there to choose the UK as a destination for higher studies.

During his last visit here in February, India and the UK vowed to fight tax evasion and avoidance through the implementation of Amending Protocol of their Double Taxation Avoidance Convention (DTAC) signed by both sides in October last year.

Both sides are on track to double trade in merchandise by 2015 from $15 billion last fiscal.