India’s entrepreneurial excellence combined with the City’s world-leading financial services is a recipe for success, writes London Lord Mayor Michael Mainelli
When I landed in India last week, I reached a country that – like the US and the UK – is in election mode. India is a nation whose star has risen, and where confidence in the future is high. India is on track to be the third largest economy in the world by 2030. As Dinesh Dhamija argues in his new book ‘The Indian Century’, we are entering an era of increasing Indian influence. As he told City A.M. last year, population growth has combined with a culture that promotes enterprise: “People who live there are very entrepreneurial and innovative – there are now 100 unicorns a year in India.”
The volume of trade between our two countries also continues to grow, with almost £30bn worth of bilateral trade in 2022. The UK is the sixth largest investor in India, whilst India stands as the second largest investor in the UK – with its investments directly supporting 95,000 British jobs. All this is underpinned by the living bridge of people, culture and language between the two countries.
UK financial services are integral to these successes. Exports of UK financial services exports to India have been rising steadily in recent years, from £170m in 2015 to over £340m last year – and we know there is the opportunity to go
much further.
One of India’s greatest success stories is its legion of successful tech entrepreneurs, who emphasise the importance of digital and AI skills for the future, across the whole population. These are skills which the City of London Corporation is also working hard to nurture here in the UK, and will be the focus of an event we are holding this week with the Financial Services Skills Commission on women in tech. India is also working to make it easier for international firms to do business there – an area where the City’s experience puts the UK in a strong position to help.
The UK and India have been working together on improving the insolvency regime in India, building on India’s 2016 Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code. The UK government’s Technical Assistance Programme on Financial Services in India has worked with more than 5,000 insolvency professionals, creditors and regulators. The City Corporation is supporting the UK-India Infrastructure Financing Bridge, enabling us to share expertise in structuring and financing major infrastructure projects, with a particular focus on environmental sustainability.
Climate finance was a hot topic in my discussions with Indian businesses and policymakers in Delhi and Mumbai. As well as our financial strengths, our place as science superpowers put the UK and India in a strong position to take the lead – as we did during the Covid-19 pandemic on vaccine production.
Speaking to Indian innovators and scientists, such as those I met at the Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, I am confident we can achieve similar shared successes in tackling global challenges such as climate change, and in meeting the other UN Sustainable Development Goals.
The Booker Prize-winning Indian author Arundhati Roy once wrote: “Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.” Working together, the UK and India can breathe new life into that new world. Whatever the outcome of elections or the speed of free trade agreement negotiations, our course should be clear. We must utilise our strengths in science and finance and build on the advantages afforded to us by our ties in a spirit of true partnership.