Page 25 - Uk

UK-India trade has potential to double by 2030: UK's Dy High Commissioner

Notwithstanding the impact of Russia's war with Ukraine, the UK and India are heading towards an era of positive engagement in trade and business relations, with steps underway to promote mutual investments in both the nations, British Deputy High Commissioner in charge of Kerala and Karnataka Chandru Iyer said. Iyer who is also UK's Deputy Trade Commissioner for South Asia spoke in detail to PTI on Friday about the trade and investments between the UK and India and said there was potential to double the business by 2030. He was in the state to take part in various official engagements, including a meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, and also in connection with the port of call made by the British Royal Navy's frigate ship, HMS Lancaster, at Kochi. Calling war a global phenomenon that affects all countries in more ways than one, the British Deputy High Commissioner hailed entrepreneurs for being enterprising and resilient in the face of adversity. "If you look at t

Gen Z's clean living means decline in 'sin tax' by £14 bn for UK

Revenue from tobacco now makes up just 1% of total public sector receipts, down from 1.9% two decades ago. Alcohol brings in 1.3% of receipts, shrinking from 1.7%

TikTok to be blocked from parliamentary devices, networks in UK: Report

The commissions of the House of Commons and House of Lords have announced they will follow the move taken by the government on official devices, citing the need for cyber security

India, UK hold discussions on bilateral and wider security cooperation

Indian High Commissioner to UK Vikram Doraiswami recently met Commandant Major General Zack Stenning OBE at Royal Military Academy, Sandhurst and discussed engagements in Professional Military domain

Issue of vandalism at Indian High Commission raised in UK Parliament

The vandalism by pro-Khalistan extremists at the Indian High Commission here was on Thursday raised in the House of Commons, with British MPs demanding action against "Khalistani hooligans" and the safety of India's diplomatic staff. While Conservative Party MP Bob Blackman called for a debate in Parliament to discuss steps to ban groups behind the violence, Opposition Labour Party MP Gareth Thomas asked the Leader of the House of Commons about the steps being taken to ensure there is "no repeat of such behaviour". The Cabinet minister addressing the Business of the House, Penny Mordaunt, responded by reiterating Foreign Secretary James Cleverly earlier statement announcing a review of the protection measures around the Indian mission here. "We strongly condemn the vandalism and violent acts that took place outside the Indian High Commission in London. It was a completely unacceptable action against the High Commission and its staff," Mordaunt told MPs. "There is ongoing work with

India, UK hold annual bilateral maritime exercise 'Konkan' in Arabian Sea

The annual bilateral maritime exercise between the Indian Navy and UK's Royal Navy was held off the Konkan coast in the Arabian Sea from March 20-22, an official statement said on Thursday. INS Trishul, a guided missile frigate, and HMS Lancaster, a Type 23 guided missile frigate, participated in 'Konkan 2023' and undertook multiple maritime drills to enhance interoperability and imbibe best practices, the Indian Navy said in the statement. The exercises covered all domains of maritime operations, air, surface and sub-surface, and included gunnery shoots on surface inflatable target Killer Tomato', helicopter operations, anti-air and anti-submarine warfare drills, Visit Board Search and Seizure (VBSS), ship manoeuvres and exchange of personnel, it said. "The exercise yielded excellent training value to the personnel of both navies. A high level of professionalism and enthusiasm was also evident during its conduct," the Indian Navy said. "The focus personnel exhibited on op-readines

UK central bank hikes interest rates like Fed amid financial turmoil

The Bank of England focused on fighting inflation, announcing an 11th consecutive interest rate increase Thursday despite concerns about the economic fallout from troubles in the global financial system. Britain's central bank boosted its key rate by a quarter-percentage point to 4.25 per cent, a day after the US Federal Reserve approved a similar move to tame inflation that is crimping household budgets and slowing economic growth. The decision by the bank's Monetary Policy Committee came after the UK statistics agency surprised policymakers Wednesday by reporting that inflation accelerated to 10.4 per cent in February, driven by the cost of food, clothing and dining out. Before the figures were released, many analysts had expected the Bank of England to keep rates on hold following the collapse of two US banks and the ensuing troubles at Switzerland's Credit Suisse, which forced a hastily arranged takeover by rival UBS. The bank will continue to monitor closely indications of ...

UK to respond 'robustly' against attack on Indian High Commission: Cleverly

The UK will review the security at the Indian High Commission here following "unacceptable" acts of violence by pro-Khalistan protesters, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has said, asserting that the government takes these matters "very seriously" and would "robustly" respond to such incidents. Around 2,000 protesters waving Khalistan flags descended upon the Indian mission here on Wednesday for a planned demonstration and hurled objects and chanted slogans amid a heightened security presence and barricades. Unlike the violent disorder on Sunday when the India House came under attack, the protesters were barricaded across the road with uniformed officers standing guard and patrolling the area throughout. The protesters, including turbaned men, and some women and children, had been bused in from different parts of the UK and chanted pro-Khalistan slogans. In a statement issued on Wednesday, Foreign Secretary Cleverly said the British government takes such matters very seriously and

UK expresses interest to partner with Kerala in higher education sector: CM

The United Kingdom has evinced interest to work with the Kerala government in the higher education sector among others, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said on Wednesday. Vijayan called on British Deputy High Commissioner, Chandru Iyer, here and discussed the potential in state's collaboration with the United Kingdom in the areas of healthcare, education, Fintech among others. "Had a fruitful discussion with the British Deputy High Commissioner, @chandruiyer, regarding potential collaboration between the UK and Kerala to enhance crucial sectors like education, healthcare, and scientific research. Thank you for your valuable insights and support," Vijayan tweeted. Detailing the efforts of his government, Vijayan said it has been focusing more on the quality of higher education in the state and there was ample scope to cooperate with Britain in that sector. "The Deputy High Commissioner has informed about the plan to conduct an Education World Forum. We will discuss the possibility o

Security beefed up around Indian mission in UK over protest by Sikh groups

There is a heightened security presence and barricades have been erected outside the Indian High Commission here on Wednesday due to a planned demonstration called by some British Sikh groups. Banners for a so-called "National Protest", organised by groups such as the Federation of Sikh Organisations (FSO) and Sikh Youth Jathebandia, have been circulating on social media since before a protest on Sunday, which ended in violent disorder at the India House. The Indian government registered a strong protest over the lack of security measures at its diplomatic mission, which ended in Khalistan flag-waving protesters smashing windows of the mission and attempting to pull down the tricolour. Since the weekend, several uniformed officers have been patrolling the area in Aldwych and Metropolitan Police vans have been stationed at India Place. Wednesday's planned demonstration claims to be in response to discriminatory actions of the Indian Police in Punjab. The Indian High Commission in .

UK ex-PM Boris Johnson to be grilled by Parl panel over partygate scandal

Former British prime minister Boris Johnson will be grilled by a cross-party parliamentary panel for several hours on Wednesday to establish whether he knowingly misled the House of Commons over the partygate scandal of COVID law-breaking parties at Downing Street. The House of Commons Privileges Committee has published a fresh bundle of evidence, including photographs and statements from Johnson's close aides at the time, ahead of the oral evidence session. The seven-member committee, which scrutinises members of Parliament, said it was publishing the material for the benefit of those following the oral evidence session. The documents comprise the evidence and materials that will be referred to in the course of oral questioning by MPs, it said, adding that much of the material has already been previously published. Among the documents is the written evidence of Martin Reynolds, the former principal private secretary to Johnson when he was Prime Minister, who claims he questioned .

'Sensationalist lies': India's high commissioner to UK on media reports

India's High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami said that there is no truth to sensationalist lies being circulated on social media, while giving details of the situation in Punjab

UK learning from India's work in financial inclusion: London Lord Mayor

Scope for UK green finance investments in India, says Nicholas Lyons

Security up near Indian mission in UK post vandalism by pro-Khalistanis

Security was beefed up around the Indian High Commission here on Monday and Scotland Yard detained one person in connection with vandalism at the mission by Khalistan supporters a day earlier as India asked the UK to quickly arrest and prosecute those involved in the attack. The tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission in London was grabbed at by the protesters waving separatist Khalistan flags and chanting pro-Khalistan slogans on Sunday. After the incident, police arrested one person related to the violent disorder. In New Delhi, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra said on Monday that India has asked the UK to quickly arrest and prosecute those involved in pulling down the Indian flag at its mission in London. Kwatra said that India lodged a strong protest and clearly indicated to the British authorities the need for putting up adequate security at the Indian high commission. Following the incident, India summoned the senior-most British diplomat in Delhi and demanded an ...

UK to take security seriously after vandalism by pro-Khalistani protesters

The UK government will take the security of the Indian High Commission here "seriously", top British officials have said as they condemned as "disgraceful" and "completely unacceptable" the vandalism at the mission by a group of protesters waving separatist Khalistani flags. The tricolour flying atop the Indian High Commission was grabbed at by the protesters chanting pro-Khalistani slogans on Sunday, leading to an arrest related to the violent disorder. Officials from the mission said the "attempted but failed" attack had been foiled and that the tricolour was now flying "grander". The Metropolitan Police said two members of security staff sustained minor injuries which did not require hospital treatment. An investigation has been launched. Responding to the incident, London's mayor Sadiq Khan said he condemned "the violent disorder and vandalism that took place". "There is no place in our city for this kind of behaviour," he tweeted. The British High Commissioner to India Alex

UK phones to get emergency alert system to warn of life-threatening events

A siren-like alert will be sent to mobile phone users across the UK next month to test a new public warning system over life-threatening events such as severe weather events, the British government announced on Sunday. A UK-wide alerts test will take place in the early evening of Sunday, April 23, which will see people receive a test message on their mobile phones. The government said the new Emergency Alerts will be used very rarely, only being sent where there is an immediate risk to people's lives, so people may not receive an alert for months, or even years. While currently not covered, terror alerts could also be added to the list of potential events that would trigger a notification over time. We are strengthening our national resilience with a new emergency alerts system, to deal with a wide range of threats from flooding to wildfires, said Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden. It will revolutionise our ability to warn and inform people who are in immediate danger, and he

UK govt powers up Rolls-Royce's plan to build N-reactor on moon

The UKSA said it wanted to establish a new power source to support systems for communications, life-support and scientific experiments on the Moon

Rahul Gandhi has become part of 'anti-nationalist toolkit', says Nadda

Bharatiya Janata Party National President JP Nadda launched a scathing attack on Rahul Gandhi over his remarks in the UK and said that he has become a permanent part of the anti-nationalist toolkit

UK reveals measures to boost economy, eases cost-of-living burden

The UK has unveiled a clutch of measures to boost its struggling economy, including childcare reforms, tax cuts for businesses, and policies to ease the cost-of-living burden for households

British, German fighter jets intercept Russian plane near Estonia airspace

British and German air force fighter jets were scrambled to intercept a Russian aircraft flying close to Estonian airspace, the U.K. defence ministry said Wednesday, amid mounting concerns about confrontation in the skies near Russia and Ukraine. The U.K. and Germany are conducting joint air policing missions in Estonia as part of NATO efforts to bolster its eastern flank in response to Russia. Britain's defence ministry said the Typhoon jets responded Tuesday after a Russian air-to-air refuelling aircraft failed to communicate with Estonian air traffic control. The Russian plane didn't enter the airspace of Estonia, a NATO member. UK and German planes are patrolling together as part of the NATO Baltic Air Policing mission until the end of April. Wing Commander Scott Maccoll, Commander of the RAF's 140 Expeditionary Air Wing, said it was great to see the UK and German elements operate as one team. U.K. armed forces minister James Heappey said this joint UK and German deployment i