Page 5 - India Uk

Sitharaman to visit London from Apr 8-10; FTA talks may figure in meetings

Issues pertaining to the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) and bilateral investment treaty between India and the UK are expected to figure during the three-day visit of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to London from April 8-10, official sources said. The minister would be attending a host of meetings, including India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue, in London. Sitharaman is likely to hold a bilateral meeting with UK's Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves and other British ministers. "Issues pertaining to the trade agreement and bilateral investment treaty (BIT) may also come up for discussions between the two," the official said. On February 24, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds announced resumption of negotiations for the proposed FTA between the two countries. The India-UK negotiations are resuming after a gap of over eight months. The talks were launched on January 13, 2022. S

UK secures 17 new export, investment deals during trade secy's India visit

The UK on Wednesday said its Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson announced 17 new export and investment deals during their visits to India this week. It also said that New Delhi's recent Union budget drives more opportunity for British insurance companies to expand their presence in India. British insurance companies in particular have gained more potential to expand in India following the recent Indian budget, which increased the amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) permitted in the insurance sector from 74 per cent to 100 per cent, a readout by the UK said. The UK has the third largest technology economy in the world, and a number of UK technology companies have also announced expansion into India, accelerating their growth journey, it noted. "The UK's Trade Secretary Jonathan Reynolds and Investment Minister Poppy Gustafsson have announced 17 new export and investment deals during visits to India this week," it said. However, details

Alcohol body seeks import duty cut in phased manner under India-UK FTA

Alcoholic beverage industry body CIABC on Tuesday urged the government to consider reducing the import duty in a phased manner under the proposed free trade agreement between India and the UK. The Confederation of Indian Alcoholic Beverage Companies (CIABC) said that the government should ensure better market access for Indian products in the UK. On February 24, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds announced resumption of negotiations for the proposed agreement. "The government needs to safeguard the interests of Indian liquor manufacturers while deciding on issues related to customs duty cuts and other concessions under FTAs. "Though we have already recommended to the government to cut cuts basic customs duty on spirits over a period of 10 years, we also want the government to ensure better international market access and safeguard interests of Indian companies against any dumping of products through transfe

India-UK trade talks begin: FTA, BIT, social-security pact on the table

India had requested the UK to consider a social-security agreement two years ago, but talks were launched only on Monday

India, UK resume negotiations for FTA, aims to triple trade in 10 years

India and the UK on Monday discussed to advance the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations while ensuring that the pact is balanced, ambitious and mutually beneficial. In a post on X, Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal said both countries reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening trade and investment ties. He held a meeting with UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds here. "During the meeting, our discussions focused on advancing the India-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations and ensuring that the agreement is balanced, ambitious and mutually beneficial," Goyal said. The India-UK FTA negotiations were launched on January 13, 2022. The agreement is aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. In such pacts, two countries either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on maximum goods traded between them. They also ease norms for promoting trade in services and bilateral investments. The bilateral trade between India and

India, UK to resume negotiations on proposed trade agreement from Feb 24

After a gap of over eight months, India and the UK will resume negotiations for a proposed free trade agreement (FTA) here from February 24, an official said. UK's Secretary of State for Business and Trade Jonathan Reynolds will be here for resumption of the talks. He will hold a bilateral meeting with Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, the official said. The India-UK FTA negotiations were launched on January 13, 2022. Total 13 rounds of negotiations have been held till December 2023. The 14th round, which began on January 10, 2024, was underway when negotiations were paused by the UK side in May 2024 due to elections in that country. The talks would resume the discussions from the progress achieved previously and seek to bridge the gaps for expeditiously closing the trade deal, the official added. The agreement is aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. In such pacts, two countries either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties on maximum goods trad

India-UK FTA is the floor of relationship, not ceiling: UK trade envoy

The Free Trade Agreement between India and the United Kingdom is the floor of the relationship between the two countries and it's not the ceiling of their ambitions, Harjinder Kang, UK's Trade Commissioner for South Asia said. Kang, the British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, said several ministerial visits are lined up in February. The proposed visits include Jonathan Reynolds, the Secretary of State for Business & Trade; Poppy Gustafsson, UK Investment Minister Secretary of State at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero; Vernon Coaker, Minister of State for Defence of the United Kingdom and Alastair King, the Lord Mayor of the City of London. He said not a single day goes by without an FTA-related conversation. "It's a conversation that we have regularly. Some of you know that I was the UK's chief negotiator before I came here to do this role and it's an amazing experience about the two industries, sectors, two economies, the two governments and how they ...

UK strengthens India defence ties with new initiative, dedicated MoD office

India-UK strategic partnership gets a fillip with the formal launch of 'Defence Partnership-India', the signing of agreements at Aero India 2025, and a dedicated programme office within the UK's MoD

Indian restaurants among targets in UK crackdown on illegal migrants

Indian restaurants, nail bars, convenience stores, and car washes were among the targets of what the Home Office on Monday described as a UK-wide blitz on illegal working in the country. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said her department's Immigration Enforcement teams had a record-breaking January as they descended on 828 premises -- a 48 per cent rise compared to the previous January, with arrests surging to 609, and marking a 73 per cent increase from the previous year. The Home Office said that while its teams respond to illegal working intelligence in all sectors, a significant proportion of last month's activity took place at restaurants, takeaways and cafes as well as in the food, drink and tobacco industry. A visit to one Indian restaurant in Humberside, northern England, alone led to seven arrests and four detentions, it noted. The immigration rules must be respected and enforced. For far too long, employers have been able to take on and exploit illegal migrants and too many

India, UK to resume talks on proposed trade agreement from Feb 24: Official

India and the UK are expected to resume the talks for the proposed free trade agreement from February 24, an official said. The UK trade minister is likely to visit the national capital soon, the official said. The talks for the proposed FTA began in January 2022. The 14th round of talks stalled as the two nations stepped into their general election cycles. The agreement is aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investments. In such pacts, two countries either eliminate or significantly reduce customs duties of maximum goods traded between them. They also ease norms for promoting trade in services and bilateral investments. The Indian industry is demanding greater access for its skilled professionals from sectors like IT and healthcare in the UK market, besides market access for several goods at nil customs duty. On the other hand, the UK is seeking a significant cut in import duties on goods such as scotch whiskey, electric vehicles, lamb meat, chocolates and certain confectionar

India, UK to enhance bilateral cooperation in healthcare, life sciences

India and the UK have agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in the field of healthcare and life sciences as strategic partners with strong links in the area, with a specific aim of strengthening collaboration in the health technology and innovation sectors. The Health and Life Sciences Partnership' signed by UK Health Secretary Wes Streeting in London on Thursday will cover a broad range of areas, including digitisation and innovation across the country's state-funded National Health Service (NHS). This will strengthen the UK's partnership of cooperation with India on healthcare innovation and health security, said the UK's Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). The memorandum of understanding (MoU), signed by Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Jagat Prakash Nadda at the Delhi end, will also cover joint research, information sharing and cooperation through multilateral fora in areas such as antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The Health and Life Sciences agreement ...

India, UK renew five-year partnership to strengthen health cooperation

The MoU focuses on joint efforts to address global health challenges, including antimicrobial resistance, non-communicable diseases, digital health innovations, and pharmaceutical advancements

Richest 10% got over half of what UK took from India during its rule: Study

The UK extracted USD 64.82 trillion from India over a century of colonialism between 1765 and 1900 and USD 33.8 trillion of this went to the richest 10 per cent -- enough money to carpet London in notes of 50 British pound almost four times over. This forms part of rights group Oxfam International's latest flagship global inequity report released every year on the first day of the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting. The report, titled 'Takers, not Makers' and released here on Monday hours before the start of the annual meeting of the rich and powerful across the globe, cited several studies and research papers to claim that the modern multinational corporation is a creation of colonialism only. "Legacies of inequality and pathologies of plunder, pioneered during the time of historical colonialism, continue to shape modern lives. This has created a deeply unequal world, a world torn apart by division based on racism, a world that continues to systematically extract wealth from the

PM Modi speaks to King Charles, reaffirms India-UK strategic partnership

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to UK's King Charles and reaffirmed India's commitment to strengthening the comprehensive strategic partnership. During their discussion, they reflected on the historic relationship and emphasized their shared goal of fostering deeper collaboration in various areas. They reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership between the two nations which has been a cornerstone of bilateral relations, according to an official statement. The conversation also touched upon the Commonwealth of Nations, with both leaders exchanging views on the outcomes of the recently concluded Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) held in Samoa. Both countries are key members of the Commonwealth and the dialogue highlighted their dedication to advancing the organization's goals. Climate action and sustainability emerged as pivotal topics during the exchange. Prime Minister Modi praised King Charles III for his ..

UK PM Starmer hosts group of Indian investors, CEOs at Downing Street

The visit follows Starmer's meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the G20 where they committed to take forward an ambitious UK-India Comprehensive Strategic Partnership

Business activity between India, UK flourishes in 2024, shows HSBC data

Business activity between the UK and India has flourished in 2024 as the value of payments received by clients in Britain from India rose by 121 per cent, according to the latest data released by HSBC UK. The multinational bank, which highlighted the figures based on its two-way support for businesses within the India-UK corridor this week, said its data on payments and client referrals showed year-on-year growth. In the nine months to October 2024, the value of payments made by HSBC UK business clients to India reportedly rose by 32 per cent and the bank received 36 per cent more new business client referrals from HSBC India year-on-year. Our data shows that business between the UK and India is not only strong, it's getting even stronger, and the opportunities for expanding businesses in India are huge, said Cora McLaren, Head of International Subsidiary Banking at HSBC UK. India's population is not only a vast number of potential customers, within it there is a growing middle cla

UK-India business boosted by prospect of free trade agreement, says HSBC

In the nine months to October, HSBC's UK unit received 36 per cent more business client referrals from its arm in India

Beyond the missed deadlines, India-UK FTA talks at a tricky turning point

India and the UK are set to relaunch free trade agreement talks next month under Keir Starmer's Labour Party, facing critical challenges including unresolved issues and shifting political priorities

India a very important business partner: UK Warwick Group Dean Robin Clark

Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav visited the Warwick Manufacturing Group (WMG), at Warwick University in London, UK and interacted with Professor Robin Clark

FTA an ongoing process, UK govt ready to restart negotiations: Indian envoy

Following a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of G20 Summit in Brazil, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced the relaunch of FTA talks in 2025