India-UK Relations

India and UK are bound by strong ties of shared history and culture. Indias multi-
faceted bilateral relationship with the UK intensified with its upgradation to a Strategic
Partnership in 200 during meeting of Prime !inister !anmohan Singh and former UK
Prime !inister "ony #lair in $ondon in September 200. In a %oint &eclaration it was
agreed to intensify cooperation in ci'il nuclear energy( space( defence( combating
terrorism( economic ties( science ) technology( education and culture. "he coalition
go'ernment led by P! *ameron which came to power in !ay 20+0( has called for a new
,Special -elationship with India. P! *ameron has 'isited India twice. .is first 'isit in %uly
20+0 saw the relations ele'ated to ,/nhanced Partnership for the 0uture( and during his
second 'isit in 0ebruary 20+1( it was agreed to ha'e a ,stronger( wider( deeper
partnership. UK is interested to increase its diplomatic presence in India. In %uly 20+2( UK
upgraded its trade offices in .yderabad and *handigarh to &eputy .igh *ommissions.
"he UK supports Indias proposal for permanent membership of the U2S* and is also an
important interlocutor for India in the /U( 34 and global conte5ts.
PM Camerons visit to India in February 2013
P! *ameron 'isited India accompanied by a delegation for the India-UK Summit
meeting from +4-20 0ebruary 20+1. 6part from !inisters( his delegation included the
largest #ritish trade delegation e'er to 'isit India( leaders of the India-UK */7 0orum(
members of Parliament( and Uni'ersity 8ice *hancellors. .e 'isited !umbai on the first
day where he ga'e a speech at a business e'ent besides other engagements. .e was in
&elhi on +9 0ebruary for bilateral delegation-le'el tal:s with our P! &r. !anmohan Singh.
6 %oint Statement was issued in which it was agreed that while substantial progress had
been made since the last Summit( there was considerable potential for further e5panding
the relationship( particularly in trade and in'estment. .e also called on the President and
met UP6 *hairperson !rs. Sonia 3andhi besides 'isiting a womens college. .e 'isited
6mritsar on the 20
th
and laid a wreath at the memorial to the +9+9 %alianwala #agh
massacre. .e has become the first ser'ing UK Prime !inister to pay his respects there.
;riting in the condolence boo: he described the massacre as <a deeply shameful e'ent in
#ritish history<. "hree !7Us were signed on the sidelines = on collaboration in *hemical
#iological( -adiological and 2uclear &efence> on S:ills and &e'elopment> collaboration in
*ommunity *olleges and School $eadership Programmes.
Oter !i" #level visits
6 number of Summit meetings ha'e been held since the Strategic Partnership in
200. UK P! "ony #lair 'isited India in September 200?( P! !anmohan Singh 'isited UK
in 7ctober 200@ and UK P! 3ordon #rown 'isited India in %anuary 2004. Soon after
coming to power( Prime !inister &a'id *ameron( accompanied by a large delegation(
'isited India in %uly 20+0. P! *ameron again 'isited India in 0ebruary 20+1.
President Smt. Pratibha Patil paid a State 8isit to the UK from 2@-29 7ctober 2009
which was the third State 'isit by an Indian President to the UK and too: place after a long
period of 20 years. "he pre'ious two 'isits were in +9@1 and +990 when President S.
-adha:rishnan and President -. 8en:ataraman 'isited the UK.
Aueen /liBabeth II( UKs .ead of State( has 'isited India three times = in +9@+ C2+
%anuary = 2 !archD> +941 C2o'emberD and +99E C+2-+4 7ctoberD.
Oter Ministerial $isits
"here are regular e5changes of !inisterial 'isits. Some of the important 'isits
during the year 20+1 from India wereF Shri P *hidambaram( .-& !inister &r. !.! Pallam
-aGu( *ommerce ) Industry !inister Shri 6nand Sharma( !inister for *ulture *handresh
Kumari Katoch( &r. 0arooH 6bdullah( !inister for 2ew and -enewable /nergy( Shri
-ahman Khan( !inister for !inority 6ffairs( /6! Shri Salman Khurshid( and !inister for
&e'elopment of 2orth /astern -egion( Shri Paban Singh 3hatowar.
0rom the UK side( the 'isits in 20+1 wereF 0oreign 7ffice !inister( !r. .ugo Swire
Kenneth *lar:e( *abinet !inister without portfolio in Prime !inisters 7ffice( 7li'er $etwin(
*abinet !inister for 3o'ernment Strategy and Senior 6d'iser to P! and 3regory #ar:er(
!inister for *limate *hange.

Forei"n O%%i&e Consultations
-egular 0oreign 7ffice *onsultations are held( and the last round was held in
$ondon on %une +9( 20+1. "he Indian delegation was led by 0oreign Secretary -anGan
!athai and the UK delegation was led by Permanent Under Secretary Simon 0raser.
Inter-Parliamentary Conta&ts
"he Parliaments of India and the UK ha'e close relations. Spea:er of $o: Sabha
Smt. !eira Kumar 'isited the UK from +E-+9 %anuary 20++( which ended a long draught of
+ years in Parliamentary Spea:ers 'isits between the two countries. Spea:er of UK
.ouse of *ommons %ohn #ercow returned the 'isit the same year in 6ugust 20++. "here
are 0riends of India 3roups in all the three maGor political parties( *onser'ati'e( $abour
and $iberal &emocrat Party. "here is an 6ll-Party Parliamentary 3roup on India in UK
Parliament. 6n 6ll Party Parliamentary 3roup on "rade and Industry lin:ages with India
was set up in 2009. "here is an India-#ritish 0riendship 3roup in Indian Parliament.
Parliamentary e5changes ha'e also ta:en place under the banner of the *ommonwealth
Parliamentary 6ssociation.
'du&ation
/ducation is a 'ery important plan: of our bilateral relationship. "he UK-India
/ducation and -esearch Initiati'e CUKI/-ID( launched in 200? has been a success in
collaborations for schools and higher educational institutions including Goint research. "he
second phase of UKI/-I was launched in %une 20++ for another fi'e years. 6n India-UK
/ducation 0orum launched in 2004 holds regular meetings at !inisterial-le'el. "he fifth
meeting was held in $ondon in %anuary 20+1. 6round 10(000 students from India are
studying in higher education in UK which is the second largest segment of foreign students
in UK after *hina.
(e%en&e
India has multifaceted cooperation in the defence sector with UK. ;e ha'e
institutionalised defence dialogue at &efence Secretary le'el and the +1
th
round was held
in $ondon in %anuary( 20++."here are regular 'isits of *hiefs of Staff. ;e ha'e regular
e5changes between the ser'ices including in training of officers. ;e also conduct Goint
e5ercises. ;e also procure defence eHuipment from UK. "here is collaboration in
-esearch and &e'elopment between &S"$ of UK and &-&7 of India.
Civil )u&lear Coo*eration

India and UK signed a *i'il 2uclear *ooperation &eclaration on ++ 0ebruary 20+0.
Se'eral Goint research proGects are in progress. &uring P!s 'isit( both sides agreed to
sign an agreement on ci'il nuclear cooperation.
+&ien&e , -e&nolo"y Coo*eration
6 bilateral S ) " agreement was signed in %anuary +99@. In 200@( the ,Science and
Inno'ation *ouncil was set up which holds regular !inisterial-le'el meetings. 6 number of
Goint research with Goint funding are being conducted which include proGects in nano-
science( biotechnology( telecom( solar energy use and weather forecasting. "he third
meeting of the *ouncil was in $ondon in 6pril 20+2. 7n ++
th
!arch 20+1( the India-UK
Programme of *ooperation CP7*D on Industrial -esearch and &e'elopment has been
signed at $ondon( between &epartment of Science ) "echnology( 3o'ernment of India(
and the "echnology Strategy #oard of UK.
-ourism
"he UK ran:s number two in the world in terms of tourists 'isiting India. 6round
?00(000 Indians 'isit UK e'ery year and appro5imately 00(000 UK tourists 'isit India.
7'er +00 wee:ly flights between India and the UK are operated by 6ir India( %et 6irways(
#ritish 6irways and 8irgin 6tlantic.
India-UK Round -able
"he India-UK -ound "able was set up as a non-go'ernment channel for long range
and ,out of bo5 thin:ing on the future of our bilateral relationship. "he +
th
India-UK -ound
"able was held in &itchley( 75ford from 2E-29 6pril 20+2.
'&onomi& and Commer&ial Relations
"rade and in'estment is one of the most important underpinnings of our bilateral
relations( which got a boost with the setting up of %oint /conomic and "rade *ommittee
C%/"*7D in 200? to tac:le trade and in'estment barriers on both sides and promote
business lin:s. "he 4
th
%/"*7 meeting was held in $ondon on +@
th
6pril 20+2.
India-UK trade has been growing. 6ccording to the data published by the
&epartment of *ommerce( 2ew &elhi( two-way merchandise trade during 20+2-+1 was
USI+?.+49bn showing a decline of about @.E4J o'er the pre'ious year. &uring the period
20+2-+1( Indias merchandise e5ports to UK grew by 0.EJ from USI4.@24 billion to
USI4.@11 billion and imports from UK declined by o'er +J from USIE.@@@ to USI@.???
billion.
Indias main e5ports to the UK are ready-made garments and te5tiles( gems and
Gewellery( engineering goods( petroleum and petrochemical products( transport eHuipment
and parts( spices( manufactures of metals( machinery and instruments( drugs )
pharmaceuticals and marine products. "he main imports from the UK to India are precious
and semi-precious stones( metalifers( ores and metal scraps( engineering goods(
professional instruments other than electronics( non-ferrous metals( chemicals and
machinery. In the ser'ices sector( the UK is the largest mar:et in /urope for Indian I"
ser'ices.
UK is Indias 1
rd
largest 0&I in'estor. "op sectors attracting 0&I from UK are
petroleum( ports( ser'ices( roads and highways( computer software. India is the fifth
largest in'estor in UK. "here are around E00 Indian companies in the UK of which "ata is
the largest pri'ate sector employer in the UK.
Culture
India and UK signed a !emorandum of Understanding on *ultural *ooperation in
%uly 20+0. /stablished in +992( the 2ehru *entre in $ondon is the cultural outreach of the
.igh *ommission and organises a wide range of cultural functions including tal:s(
seminars( e5hibitions( boo: launches( film shows( plays and music and dance
programmes.
Indian &ommunity
7f #ritains population of @2.E million( the population of Indian origin is estimated
to be around +.4 - 2 million( accounting for the single largest segment of ethnic population.
!aGority of the Indians are in white collar professions such as doctors( engineers( solicitors
and chartered accountants. "he present Parliament of UK has 4 Indian origin !Ps and 2+
Indian-origin $ords. In addition( there are o'er +40 Indian origin *ouncillors elected to
*ouncils across UK.
KKKKK
.uly 2013