The U.K. govt. says as many as 64 Indian firms have committed to invest £1.3 billion in Britain.
The Universities of Lancaster and Surrey receive approval to open campuses in India. Modi and Keir Starmer agree on a £250-million deal on electric-powered engines for Naval ships
India has signed a £350-million defence deal with the U.K. to buy missiles for the Indian army, the British government said on Thursday.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his U.K. counterpart, Keir Starmer, also agreed to take forward their collaboration on electric-powered engines for Naval ships, worth an initial £250 million.
In a separate release, the U.K. government said 64 Indian companies had so far committed to invest £1.3 billion (or ₹15,430 crore) in the U.K., a sign of the growing business confidence boosted by the India-U.K. trade deal.
U.K. varsities in India
The Indian government has not shared similar data on investment commitments by U.K. companies in India.
However, the U.K. government also said that the University of Lancaster and the University of Surrey had been given approval to open campuses in India to help meet booming demand from Indian students.
The missile deal paves the way for a “broader complex weapons partnership” between the U.K. and India, which is currently under negotiation between the two governments, the U.K. government said in its statement.
“The contract is set to deliver U.K.-manufactured Lightweight Multirole Missiles (LMM) built in Belfast to the Indian Army, delivering on the Government’s Plan for Change in another significant boost for the U.K. defence industry,” it said.
“A new milestone has also been reached in the U.K. and India’s cooperation on electric-powered engines for naval ships as both countries signed the Implementing Arrangement to advance collaboration to the next stage, worth an initial £250 million,” it added.
“Nearly 7,000 brand new jobs will be created in the United Kingdom thanks to a raft of major new deals secured by the Prime Minister during his visit to India this week,” the U.K. government said. “As a result, Indian investment will flow into a range of U.K. sectors including engineering, technology and the creative industries, driving growth and creating jobs across every region of the country - from Basingstoke to Birmingham,” it added.
Among the major investment announcements are TVS Motor’s plan to invest £250 million in Solihull to expand its Norton Motorcycles operations and develop next-generation electric vehicles.
“Engineering company Cyient is investing £100 million to boost innovation in semiconductors, geospatial tech, mobility, clean energy, and digital domains — creating 300 U.K. jobs and strengthening its long-standing presence in the country,” the release said.
Muthoot Finance UK Limited, a part of the Muthoot Group, plans to invest £100 million to expand its branch network to 20 locations in the U.K. Hero Motors plans to invest £100 million in the U.K. over the next five years in its e-mobility, e-bicycles and aerospace divisions.
The Hindu has reached out to the Ministry of Commerce and Industry for details on investment announcements by U.K. companies in India.
On the first day of Mr. Starmer’s visit to India, Rolls-Royce CEO Tufan Erginbilgic said that his company has “deep ambitions to develop India as a home for Rolls-Royce”.
