Many questions left to answer in the UK-India Partnership

UK must realise the importance of the UK-India partnership in the global talent race.

The first ever UK-India Week finds both nations at a crossroads. Brexit is an opportunity to forge a new, global identity for Britain, while India - the fastest-growing major economy in the world, a rapidly emerging nation - finds itself at a strategic apex, ready to take its place among the world's top economic powers: Global Britain meets Global India.

There are many questions left to answer.

How do we ensure the UK remains India's gateway to Europe, and consolidate the UK's position as India's partner of choice in the Western hemisphere

How can the UK and India take a leadership position in fast-emerging sectors and markets, such as digital technology, cybersecurity, renewable energy technology and green finance

How do we leverage the bond between the UK and India to promise the best future for the next generation - a generation more mobile, aspirational and globally-connected than any of their predecessors

There is a huge opportunity for these two great countries - now equals on the world stage - to harness their shared values, trade, technology and talent to enhance prosperity at home and around the world.

Transformational vision

As several writers in this edition of 'India Global Business' make clear, the UK-India relationship has all the ingredients of a winning partnership. Trade and investment are strong, and we must now build on these transactional ties with a transformational vision.

Leveraging the goodwill and influence of the Indian diaspora in the UK could be a good starting point. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has realised the significance of the diaspora and revitalised its role in India's global outreach. The question for Brexit-bound UK is whether it too can sufficiently invigorate its 1.5 million Indian diaspora community to help build the bridges of the future. Modi′s reforms are expected to propel India′s economy to a growth rate of 7.4 per cent in 2018-19. The World Bank′s 'Ease of Doing Business' rankings placed India over 40 places in 2017 than in the previous year, at 100th place. For success in every sector to continue on this trajectory, India needs to increase its bilateral trade ties with its overseas partners.

Shift in UK-India balance

Economic growth has shifted the UK-India balance of power in India's favour.

The fast growth of the technology sector and the expansion of digital technology in other sectors have also changed the dynamics of the UK-India partnership. Billion-dollar technology businesses have started in the UK in the last decade, benefiting from the UK's competitive financial markets, IP and innovation capabilities, and talent. For instance, the UK's fintech sector alone generates revenues of £6.6 billion annually. The UK-India Fintech Dialogue, backed by an MoU between the UK and India, should be extended to further areas of the technology sector. The UK and India can collaborate to reduce the costs and environmental footprints of industrial and energy-generating capabilities, and help India's citizens become globally-connected, bringing Indian tech ventures greater access to financial markets with innovative financial models. Finally, the UK must realise the importance of the UK-India partnership in the global talent race.

UK faces greater competition

The UK celebrates its status as one of the most meritocratic and aspirational economies in the world but it is now facing greater competition from President Macron's France and from Canada, Australia and elsewhere.

Over half of India's population is under 25 years old; by helping its Indian partners to develop world-class skills, the UK can provide opportunities for the industry leaders of tomorrow. Brexit poses major questions about the competitiveness of UK businesses and the UK market, while India's huge growth opportunity corresponds to a whole new strategic challenge. India's young demographic in search of skills-training, the opportunity for leadership in the fast-emerging technology sector, and India's turn in the driving seat of global growth have focused the mind on a new level of UK-India engagement.