British PM Boris Johnson signals visa flexibility with India to win trade deal

With British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on a visit to Ahmedabad and New Delhi, the business entities of India and the United Kingdom are set to confirm new deals worth over £1 billion (or Rs 9954 crore) in areas from software engineering to health.

Johnson landed in Ahmedabad on Thursday and would meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Friday. His visit will see the UK’s OneWeb company signing a contract for satellite launches with New Space India Limited, the commercial arm of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). The OneWeb is an innovative satellite communications company, which the UK Government has invested in.

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The Carbon Masters of the UK too agreed on a joint venture to implement a waste management project in Bengaluru to reduce emissions.

“Our powerhouse partnership is delivering jobs, growth and opportunities for our people, and it will only go from strength to strength in the coming years.” British Prime Minister said commencing his visit to India.

The visit will see the UK confirming major new science and tech collaborations with India, including a Digital Health partnership and a joint investment fund for India’s deep-tech and Artificial Intelligence start-ups, supported by the UK and Indian governments, new AI scholarships for Indian students jointly funded by the UK Government’s Chevening programme and India’s Adani Group and a £ 6m investment from AI healthcare specialists Qure-ai to open a Centre of Excellence in the UK, the British Government officials in New Delhi stated.

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The new business ventures announced on the occasion of the British Prime Minister’s visit to India included the Switch Mobility Limited setting up an electric bus R&D centre in the UK and opening its Asia Pacific headquarters in Chennai, generating over 1000 jobs in the UK and in India, the Bharat Forge Limited and British electric truck maker Tevva Motors investing £ 50m to expand to a new site in the UK and create 500 new jobs, India’s software company Mastek investing £ 79 million to create 1600 jobs over the next three years all over the UK, business consultancy FirstSource Solutions Limited opening new offices in South Wales, the Midlands and cities in the north-eastern and north-western UK.

Besides, the Smith & Nephew plc based in Hertfordshire in the UK entered into a major export deal to sell robotic surgical systems in India and Scott Bader Company opened a new resins factory creating 150 jobs in India to supply top renewable energy companies in south-east Asia, the British High Commission in New Delhi stated.

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Modi-Johnson meeting in New Delhi is expected to add momentum to negotiations on the landmark UK-India free trade agreement, which is expected to help double our trade and investment by 2030. The negotiating teams of the two governments are expected to hold the third round of formal talks in India next week.

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