Page 21 - Uk

UK international trade minister to unveil new initiatives in Kolkata

UK Minister for international trade, Nigel Huddleston arrived in the city on Monday on a two-day visit to the metropolis to unveil new initiatives in electric mobility and green construction in West Bengal. The UK minister will launch a center to enhance opportunities in the electric vehicle segment by partnering Indian businesses with academic institutions and industries of that country, a statement by the British Deputy High Commission here said. He will also visit a waste processing company in Kolkata using green technology to recycle construction waste into high quality reusable sand, it said. The UK is aiming to negotiate a trade deal with India with the target to double it by 2030, the statement said. India is its 12th largest trading partner accounting 2.1 per cent of its total trade. UK's bilateral trade with India surged to GBP (British pound sterling) 36 billion in 2022, up 11.2 billion GBP or 45 per cent from 24.8 GBP in 2021. The bilateral trade supports half a millio

PM Rishi Sunak speaks of 'sting' of racism growing up in Britain

I haven't experienced that in cricket, but of course I've experienced racism growing up, says Sunak.

UK-based firm plans to set up semiconductor fabrication unit in Odisha

A UK-based company is planning to set up a semiconductor fabrication unit in Odisha's Ganjam district with an investment of Rs 30,000 crore in the first phase, officials said. The SRAM & MRAM Technologies and Projects India Pvt Limited, the Indian unit of UK-based SRAM & MRAM Group, had signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state government on March 26 to set up the semiconductor unit in the state. After visiting some sites near Chhatrapur in the district, its Indian company officials headed by its chairman Guruji Kumaran Swami held a meeting with the district administration at Chhatrapur on Thursday. Ganjam Collector Dibya Jyoti Parida has assured the investors all facilities for setting up the unit. "We have visited some sites, including the industrial park of Tata and some private lands for the establishment of the proposed semiconductor unit. A technical team of the company will visit the district to finalise the site," said Debadutt Singhdeo, project ...

UK court rules that plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda is unlawful

But the judges said that a policy of deporting asylum seekers to another country was not in itself illegal

India trade talks discussing business travel, not broader immigration: UK

Britain will discuss temporary business visas as part of Free Trade Agreement talks with India but any deal will not contain broader immigration commitments, trade minister Kemi Badenoch said

Want to strike truly ambitious trade deal with India: UK PM Rishi Sunak

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Wednesday evening reiterated his commitment to a truly ambitious free trade agreement (FTA) with India as he hosted a special reception to celebrate India Global Forum's UK-India Week 2023 in the garden of 10 Downing Street here. The 43-year-old British Indian leader interacted with business leaders and celebrities, including boxing champion Mary Kom, musicians Shankar Mahadevan and Zakir Hussain, and Bollywood actor Sonam Kapoor, as part of what he dubbed as the start of an Indian summer for the UK. Prime Minister (Narendra) Modiji and I agree there's huge potential here. We're making great progress together on the 2030 roadmap and we want to strike a truly ambitious trade deal that benefits both our nations, bringing tremendous opportunities to businesses and consumers, both in India and here at home, said Sunak, who was joined at the garden party by wife Akshata Murty and mother-in-law Sudha Murty. It's not just UK-India Week, but a whole ...

Very optimistic about FTA with India, says UK Investment Minister

An India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) is really important for both nations and it is for businesses on both sides to help drive that agenda, UK Minister for Investment Lord Dominic Johnson said in London on Tuesday. Addressing a UK-India Infrastructure Summit hosted by the City of London Corporation as part of the India Global Forum UK-India Week, Johnson said he is very optimistic about an FTA even as he declined to put a timeframe to it. India and the UK recently concluded their tenth round of FTA negotiations and an 11th round is set to begin in the next few weeks towards a comprehensive agreement expected to significantly enhance the bilateral trading relationship worth an estimated 34 billion pounds in 2022. I'm very optimistic about a free trade deal with India, said Johnson. It is hugely important for India if it wants to get the capital flows it needs to take itself to the next step, which is to become a global hyperpower economically. And it's very good for the UK if we'r

British PM Sunak's ex-deputy Raab calls for UK to up its game on India ties

One of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's close allies and former deputy prime minister, Dominic Raab, on Saturday called on the British Indian leader to up the government's game to reap the full dividends of a closer partnership with India. Dominic Raab, who led Sunak's leadership campaign and served as his Foreign Secretary before being forced to resign amid bullying allegations, wrote in The Daily Telegraph' that more can be achieved within the bilateral relationship with the UK's first Prime Minister of Indian heritage now in charge at Downing Street. He pointed to India's particular comparative advantage in tech against the backdrop of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's high-profile visit to the US this week during which mega deals were struck. With the UK's historic ties to India, and our first UK Prime Minister of Indian heritage, are we doing enough to maximise the rewards from this critical relationship, questions Raab. With Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister, Britain remains ...

Zambia reaches deal with China, other nations to rework $6.3 bn in loans

Zambia and its government creditors, including China, have reached a deal to restructure USD 6.3 billion in loans, the French government announced Thursday on the sidelines of a global finance summit in Paris. The agreement covers loans from countries including France, the UK, South Africa, Israel and India as well as China Zambia's biggest creditor at USD 4.1 billion of the total. The deal, announced by officials who spoke anonymously in accordance with the French government's customary practices, may provide a roadmap for how lenient China may be with other nations in debt distress. The International Monetary Fund approved the deal, meaning it's going to allow Zambia to receive more financing from the institution, they said. A discussion between French President Emmanuel Macron, Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema to praise the conclusion of year-long negotiations is to take place during a dinner of heads of state and government at the Elysee ..

UK will be 'OK': Sunak as rate hike exposes Conservative party's tensions

Sunak has repeatedly said voters should judge him on bringing inflation down - a pledge which sits awkwardly with his team's implied criticism of the Bank of England

VFS Global with Radisson Hotel in India to operate UK application centres

VFS Global on Thursday said it has entered into a strategic partnership with Radisson Hotel Group in India to operate UK Premium Application Centres from the hotel chain's properties. The UK visa customers can now book appointments at any of the premium application centres located at Radisson Blu Hotel Amritsar, Radisson RED Chandigarh Mohali, Park Plaza Ludhiana, and Radisson Noida for submitting their applications and enrolling biometrics this summer season, the company said in a statement. This partnership will provide customers residing in and around Punjab and Noida with four new location options, in addition to the visa application centres located in Chandigarh, Jalandhar, and New Delhi. "The partnership with Radisson Hotel Group provides additional and conveniently located touchpoints to our customers. "UK visa customers will continue to enjoy the same comfort, convenience, and best-in-class services at these locations that they do at our Visa Application Centres, as well as

TCS signs $1.1 bn contract with UK's pension scheme Nest for 10 years

The contract, to help Nest transform its administration services, if extended to the entirety of its 18-year tenure would be worth 1.5 billion pounds, TCS said in a statement

UK inflation steady at 8.7% against forecasts, BoE set to raise rates

Consumer price inflation across the UK was unchanged at 8.7 per cent in the year to May against expectations for a modest decline, official figures showed on Wednesday, a development that is set to see the Bank of England raise the cost of borrowing again. The Office for National Statistics said rising prices for flights, recreational and cultural goods and services, and second-hand cars boosted the inflation rate, while gas prices at the pump provided the biggest downward pressure. After last month's fall, annual inflation was little changed in May and remains at a historically high level," the agency's chief economist Grant Fitzner said. Financial markets think news of the unchanged rate will mean the Bank of England will increase its benchmark interest rate on Thursday from the current 15-year high of 4.5 per cent. Like other central banks, the bank has aggressively raised borrowing rates over the past 18 months or so after inflation spiked sharply, first because of bottlenecks

Suella Braverman ramps up stop & search to crack down on knife crime in UK

UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman on Monday gave her full support to police to ramp up the use of stop and search powers to crack down on knife crime and prevent attacks in the country. The intervention comes days after three separate incidents of knife attacks in England, which claimed the lives of three people of Indian heritage. A knife attack in north London ended in the fatal stabbing of 27-year-old student Tejaswini Kontham from Hyderabad last Tuesday, the same day as another fatal stabbing in Nottingham of British Indian teenager Grace O'Malley Kumar. On Friday, 38-year-old Aravind Sivakumar from Kerala was found stabbed to death outside an apartment in south London. Suspects in all three knife crime cases are currently in custody and charged with murder. "Carrying weapons is a scourge on our society. And anyone doing so is risking their own lives as well as the lives of those around them. This dangerous culture must be brought to a stop, said Braverman in a statement. My

MPs to vote on report saying Boris Johnson misled British Parliament

The report recommended that the former Prime Minister should have been suspended from the Commons for 90 days if he had remained an MP

India seeks import duty relaxations for basmati rice in FTA with UK

UK levies a tariff per tonne of around £56 on brown rice, and £125 on white rice

Scientists warn UK govt of a new 'deadly virus' due to climate change

The scientists noted that CCHF infections may not be picked up by doctors in the NHS, as previously they hadn't been expected, the scientists informed the Committee

Boris Johnson deliberately misled Parliament over Covid lockdown breaches

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson deliberately and repeatedly misled Parliament when he denied knowledge of Covid-19 law-breaching parties in Downing Street, a cross-party parliamentary panel said on Thursday in its damning report into the Partygate scandal. The Commons Privileges Committee released its final report into the Partygate scandal days after Johnson, 58, resigned from Parliament as a MP, accusing the members of the committee of a "witch hunt" against him. Finding him in breach of the Commons rules, the committee was also highly critical of his attacks on its integrity and recommended a suspension of 90 days from Parliament had he not resigned. We have concluded above that in deliberately misleading the House Mr Johnson committed a serious contempt. The contempt was all the more serious because it was committed by the Prime Minister, the most senior member of the government, the Privileges Committee report said, in a historic admonishment of a former ...

Indian High Commission attack mastermind Avtar Khanda dies in UK hospital

Avtar Singh Khanda, a Punjab-origin Khalistani separatist and mastermind of the attack on the Indian High Commission in London, died in a hospital in the UK on Thursday due to blood cancer.

Tributes pour in for British Indian student killed in Nottingham stabbing

The family of a sporty teenager killed in a brutal stabbing on the streets of Nottingham where she was studying for a medical degree paid tribute on Wednesday to the adored daughter and sister" as they spoke of their utter devastation. Grace O'Malley Kumar, 19, was killed in a knife attack in the early hours of Tuesday as she walked back from a night out with fellow cricket-loving friend Barnaby Webber, 19. Floral tributes have been piling up for both teenagers on the spot at Ilkeston Road in Nottingham city centre where they were found dead. The third victim was Ian Coates, a school caretaker in his 60s. Grace was an adored daughter and sister; she was a truly wonderful and beautiful young lady, Kumar's family said in a statement. Grace was not just a sister to James but his best friend. He is completely heartbroken. As parents, words cannot explain our complete and utter devastation. She will be so dearly missed. We were so incredibly proud of Grace's achievements and what a trul