July 25, 2025 • 15 mins
Keir Starmer has signed the UK's biggest trade deal since Brexit, sealing an agreement with India's Narendra Modi. The Prime Minister has succeeded where predecessors Rishi Sunak and Boris Johnson failed, but how quickly will it boost UK growth? We discuss with Bloomberg's London Bureau Chief Ruth David and Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce UK and cross bench peer, Karan Bilimoria. Hosted by Yuan Potts and Caroline Hepker.
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Indian business is very excited that we've got the free
trade agreement in place. We've got the double contribution convention
in place. Indian businesses had been very bullish on the UK.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
That was India's Trade Minister Perush Goel speaking to Bloomberg
about the trade deal signed with the UK. So will
success on the global stage spark at change in fortunes
for Kirstarmer's government. Hello, you're listening to Blueberg UK Politics.
I'm Caroline, hepcare and.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
I'm you and Kis Starmer says the deal with India
has brought the UK back to the world stage, and
it's not hard to see why given all the pressures
and tough choices on the domestic front, he's keen to
trumpet what he sees as a big win internationally. The
deal with India is the biggest trade agreement since Brexit,
and it will eventually see around ninety percent of tariff
lines of British exports slashed, meaning that within a decade
(01:07):
eighty five percent will be fully tariff free.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah. Well. Starmer, of course, told Bloomberg that the deal
marked a real statement of intent as to how close
we want our two countries to be as we go
forwards in an uncertain world. So I suppose you in
the question remains, how is the UK wanting to define
itself on the world stage? Starmer has clearly been making
in roads and he sees it as a big winning
(01:31):
point that the UK made the first country agreement with
President Donald Trump. Plenty of others want trade agreements to
open up India, of course, namely the EU. So we'll
progress on the international stage, mean economic growth for Britain
as a result, and therefore something of a prize at
the polls for the Labor Party.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Yeah. I think that's a really fascinating question. Well let's
start off with our London bureau chief, with David who
spoke to India's trade minister. Now, Ruth, just give us
a sense of the scope and significance of this agreement.
How much will it will it really add to Grice?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Absolutely, So they're talking about four point eight billion points
a year from the UK. And there was also this
announcement around six billion in investments. So that six billion
is a bit suspect because it was Air India orders
that had already been placed. But this is definitely a
huge win for UK businesses that want to expand in India.
(02:27):
India has traditionally been one of the world's most protectionist economies.
And take Scotch whiskey for instance. Right we're talking about
tariffs on that coming down being halved, but being half
to seventy five percent from one hundred and fifty percent.
The average tariff rate in India is twelve percent compared
(02:47):
to one point five percent in the UK.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
So these are.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Very different percentages. And India is opening up, but it's
a slower opening up, but it's also a market where
growth is much stronger, where you have the demographics that
are very appealing to companies across swath of industries. So
I think Gestama can justifiably say that this is a
good deal, and I think India genuinely feels like they
(03:14):
have gotten some key concessions as well in terms of
Indian exports here in terms of the national insurance contributions,
which was a big win and which is something that
maybe the right wing of the Labor you know, the
Conservative Party is not in favor of, but opposition from
both sides, they managed to come to this point.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, absolutely, this is the issue where temporary workers Indian
workers in the UK for three years, where employers wouldn't
have to pay national insurance contributions. As you say, it
was something that was controversial to some in the UK
in terms of what Kis Darma has done and he
has succeeded. As you say, we shouldn't diminish. Actually what
(03:55):
does seem to be a success Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
Neither of those former leaders were able to sign and
deliver this deal with India, the most populous country in
the world and as you say, one growing fast.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yes there is. There was a joke, right Boris Johnson
said it would happen in Devali that year, and then
Rishisunak said it would happen in the Vallei and a
lot of de valleys came and went. But I think
we shouldn't take away from the fact that Rishisunaks when
he was in power, you know, there was a lot
of back stage negotiations that were going on then, and
(04:31):
that when the Labor government came into power, they actually
went through a lot of these briefing documents. Is what
we're hearing reported in the media and what we are
being told and then built on that foundation and Reynolds
went to India in twenty twenty four when he was
in the opposition, and at that time he met the
Commerce Minister. So the talks have been underway on key
(04:54):
issues for a while, and I think the two things
that may have been holding back Rishisunak's go was he
was seen as a leader whose time was limited, so
it was harder to strike a deal with him. And
remember all of the controversies around immigration and visas that
got linked to this deal under Suella Bravomen, which really
(05:16):
didn't help the sentiment and which didn't endear India to
what was going on. But I think the Labor government
made this a priority and you know, both the common
secretaries here and in India have been talking behind the
scenes for months now and they managed to pull it off.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Perhaps not surprising, but the geopolitics didn't really come up,
or that the two leaders weren't keen to talk about it.
But India has a pretty close relationship with Russia, doesn't
It buys a lot of Russian oil. It's just something
that you discussed with the Trade minis. So what did
he have to say on that?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yes, I did discuss it in the context of the
trade deal that India's trying to ink before August first,
when the tariffs that President Trump has promised come into effect.
And I asked, you know, is this something that is
part of the negotiations, and he wouldn't be drawn into it,
but he said this was not an issue, and he said,
(06:07):
this extra ten percent that the US has said they're
going to impose on bricks nations didn't come up. I
think the context around India and Russia is that you know,
they have for decades now had closed eyes and that's
not something that Modi's government thinks that they are going
to give up. And for so far, you know, it's
(06:28):
worked effectively for them because India has such a big
market which Western countries are keen to tap into, so
they are ready to kind of make those I don't know,
fostian agreements maybe.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Okay, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
That is London Bureau Chief with David who was speaking
to India's trade minister on that visit push Kuel, So
thank you so much for going through the interview and
the trade deal.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Well, John, about Karen Billmoria, Lord Billamuria chair of the
International Chamber of Commerce and founder of Cobra Beer and
Across Bench Peer. Thanks so much for joining us on
the show today. Now you have business sized in both
countries going back many years. What will this mean in
practical terms for trade between the two nations.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
I was there are checkers yesterday when the deal was
signed and it was a celebratory moment because I've been
working on this since I was President of the CBI
of the Confederation British Industry when the negotiations started in
early twenty twenty two, and it took over three years
to get this deal done, fourteen.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
Rounds of negotiations.
Speaker 5 (07:35):
We've got to keep in mind that India doesn't hasn't
historically done many bilateral pre trade agreements.
Speaker 7 (07:40):
We as a country the UK.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
When I was president's CBI, we rode over sixty six
trade greements that the EU had with other countries like Canada,
which now the UK has, and then we had our
new ones like Australia and New Zealand, very comprehensive deals.
This is the most comprehensive of the biggest trade deal
that the UK has done since Brexit. It's great news
for British business. But let's just put it in a perspective.
(08:05):
We are the sixth largest economy in the world. India
is now the fourth largest economy in the world. India
is that you've just heard, the fastest growing major economy
in the world, growing it over six percent a year,
and yet India is only the eleventh largest trading partner
of the UK. It should be one of the handful
of largest trading partners. Our bilateral trade in goods and
services at the moment is about forty two billion pounds.
Speaker 7 (08:25):
I think as a result of this Free Trade.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Groupment being signed now that will more than double to
over eighty billion pounds within the next five years, because
this free trade agreement really will be a catalyst to
propel trade, business and investment both ways between our two countries.
For example, the tariffs that you've just heard about one
hundred and fifty percent on Scotch whiskey going down to
seventy five percent and then down to forty percent, and
(08:47):
India is the bigges Scotch whiskey market.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
In the world.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
Cars imported into India wood charge now right now one
hundred percent duty, but that's going to go down to
ten percent on a quota basis. So this is very
good news for the Indian consumer, good news for British sports.
Speaker 7 (09:00):
Both countries will benefit from this deal in a big way.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
In terms of how quickly that's going to actually come
into effect. With your deep experience in business, which sectors
do you think it's going to benefit most quickly? As
you say, it is a major step forward and surely
a win for Kissed Arma.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
This should have been agreed much much a long ago,
but it was not.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
I mean we had elections last year in both countries,
so that delays things as well. But you have instant
wins when it comes to things like tariff. I mean
Scotch whiskey is predicted that exports will increase by a
billion pounds very very quickly. With cars as well, I
mean our British cars, premium cars are very well respected
and liked in India. Jaguarlangra which is actually owned by Tartans,
an Indian company, and of course we have investments the
(09:47):
other way around. JCD and India has huge operations and
the export from India.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
Around the world.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
But when it comes to leather goods being exported over
here from India and other items, the duties have come
right down and in some cases will completely eliminated. But
a lot a bit beyond this, this free trade agreement
is also about education. Foreign universities can now open up
in India and we've already got for example, Southampton University
(10:13):
that started building its campus just outside Delhi in India.
We have other universities Liverpool that have now decided to
open up campus in India.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
I was chance at the University of Birmingham.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
We opened up the campus in Dubai, which was a
huge success within two years. So that's another big opportunity
for our education sector. I mean, our verisure universities are
the best in the world along with America. We've got
four out of the top ten in the world. America's
got four, there's one Singapore and one Swiss. So you know,
universities are the best, the best, and that's a big
opportunity for us. The twinning, I mean, the other thing
(10:43):
is doing joint degrees. For example, in AI and data science,
we launched a joint master's degree between the IT. The
its are the elite engineering institutions in India, the most
difficult education establishments to get entry into.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
Anywhere in the world.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
The joint AI and Data Science degree with the University
of Birmingham one and a half years, where students spend
time in each country, in each campus and come.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
Out with a joint degree from both institutions.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
That's the future going ahead, where India's not seen as
an outsourcing destination, It's seen as a partner. India is
now doing phenomenal research and development and innovation that Britain.
Speaker 7 (11:16):
Can partner it.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
And the other aspect of courses in today's geopolitical world
is the defense and security. India and the UK are
now increasingly working closer together. Joint exercises with the Air Force,
Navy and Army Office has been posted at each other's
education institutions such as Lawal College. Defense down easier in
the National Defense College in India. That defense manufacturing where
(11:38):
we've got enormous capability. But at the moment India has
been procuring a lot of its defense equipment from Russia,
from Brans, from Israel. The last big British deal was
the Hawk trainers. When David Cammon was Prime Minister, were
be doing.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Much more defense.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Well, what's it like doing business in India these days?
For companies looking to scope out in new markets. Is
it still a difficult place to do business because it's
not traditionally been an open economy as it Well, if
you go back.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
To nineteen ninety one when the Indian economy was on
its knees and had two weeks worth of foreign exchange
and doctor Monmoon saying there was a finance minister.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Then they had the bailout by.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
The IMT and India then started to liberalize and that
took about ten years to kick in, and it was
only from about two thousand and two that the liberalization
really took effect and then turbo charge and one stage
India has growth reached almost ten percent a year. Now
it's well, it was six percent consistently. But what has
happened is that that entrepreneur or spirit in India that
(12:36):
was completely suppressed by the bureaucracy, by the closed economy,
that protected economy, has been unleashed over the past two
and a half decades.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
And you can see it.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
You can feel it the number of uniforms being created
in India.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
The tech that is happening over there. We see it
here in the UK. We have some of the.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Top Indian tech companies helping every aspect of British life,
including the NHS, the public sector, of the private sector,
Tata consulting services in versus Whippro. They've got huge tech mander,
huge operations in the UK and that is seen India
get on the global stage and not looked upon as
an outsourcing the destination with a country that has true
capabilities to partner with in force and manufacturing.
Speaker 7 (13:17):
It's a priority in India. Are manufacturing in the UK.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
We are now the eleventh largest manufacturer in the world
in absolute terms. We've got exit manufacturing in the UK.
India wants to increase the size and manufacturings. The percentage
of GDP for US here and drop to billill ten percent.
India wants to increase into twenty five percent. You've got
Apple phones now being manufactured in India in a big way,
Aerospace now being manufactured India.
Speaker 7 (13:39):
Automobiles are also a huge way, so huge potential for
both countries.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Yeah, and then the government here in the UK wants
to increase exports in India by nearly six percent in
the long run, by lateral trade by nearly thirty nine percent.
It's about whether that free trade agreement does now deliver
economic growth on both sides of that deal a little
bit more. Thank you so much for being with us.
Karen Billamouria is the chair of the International Chamber of
Commerce in the UK and of course also the founder
(14:07):
of Cobra Beer and a cross bench pier. There's also
one other element, so the FTA has been agreed, but
there is still this investment deal that the Trade minister
who spoke to with David was much more cagey about.
Didn't want to discuss it. But actually there's also this
hoped for bilateral investment deal, so that's the next leg
of these closer ties.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Yeah, which promises some large figures. With these investment deals,
the details often a little bit sketchy. Lots of good
headlines for the governments on this, but of course these
things take a long time to come through. Nobody's going
to get a job tomorrow because of the Tweeto deal
with India. So over the years to come it should
add to GDP. But whether it boosts the government's ratings
in the short term, I think it's a much more
tricky question.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah it is, but then you know, you have to
do something to underpin growth and trade is one of
the big answers. We shall see what happens in the
years ahead. That's it, from us forward to David. Like
the program, don't forget to subscribe. Give it five stars
so that other people can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
or wherever you listen.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
This episode was produced by Tea Adebayer and our audio
engineer was Andrew Gavin.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I'm you and Potts and I'm Caroline Hepka. We'll be
back with more next week. This is Bloomberg.
Bloomberg Audio Studios, Podcasts, radio news.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
Indian business is very excited that we've got the free
trade agreement in place. We've got the double contribution convention
in place. Indian businesses had been very bullish on the UK.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
That was India's Trade Minister Perush Goel speaking to Bloomberg
about the trade deal signed with the UK. So will
success on the global stage spark at change in fortunes
for Kirstarmer's government. Hello, you're listening to Blueberg UK Politics.
I'm Caroline, hepcare and.
Speaker 4 (00:45):
I'm you and Kis Starmer says the deal with India
has brought the UK back to the world stage, and
it's not hard to see why given all the pressures
and tough choices on the domestic front, he's keen to
trumpet what he sees as a big win internationally. The
deal with India is the biggest trade agreement since Brexit,
and it will eventually see around ninety percent of tariff
lines of British exports slashed, meaning that within a decade
(01:07):
eighty five percent will be fully tariff free.
Speaker 3 (01:10):
Yeah. Well. Starmer, of course, told Bloomberg that the deal
marked a real statement of intent as to how close
we want our two countries to be as we go
forwards in an uncertain world. So I suppose you in
the question remains, how is the UK wanting to define
itself on the world stage? Starmer has clearly been making
in roads and he sees it as a big winning
(01:31):
point that the UK made the first country agreement with
President Donald Trump. Plenty of others want trade agreements to
open up India, of course, namely the EU. So we'll
progress on the international stage, mean economic growth for Britain
as a result, and therefore something of a prize at
the polls for the Labor Party.
Speaker 4 (01:49):
Yeah. I think that's a really fascinating question. Well let's
start off with our London bureau chief, with David who
spoke to India's trade minister. Now, Ruth, just give us
a sense of the scope and significance of this agreement.
How much will it will it really add to Grice?
Speaker 1 (02:03):
Absolutely, So they're talking about four point eight billion points
a year from the UK. And there was also this
announcement around six billion in investments. So that six billion
is a bit suspect because it was Air India orders
that had already been placed. But this is definitely a
huge win for UK businesses that want to expand in India.
(02:27):
India has traditionally been one of the world's most protectionist economies.
And take Scotch whiskey for instance. Right we're talking about
tariffs on that coming down being halved, but being half
to seventy five percent from one hundred and fifty percent.
The average tariff rate in India is twelve percent compared
(02:47):
to one point five percent in the UK.
Speaker 5 (02:50):
So these are.
Speaker 1 (02:51):
Very different percentages. And India is opening up, but it's
a slower opening up, but it's also a market where
growth is much stronger, where you have the demographics that
are very appealing to companies across swath of industries. So
I think Gestama can justifiably say that this is a
good deal, and I think India genuinely feels like they
(03:14):
have gotten some key concessions as well in terms of
Indian exports here in terms of the national insurance contributions,
which was a big win and which is something that
maybe the right wing of the Labor you know, the
Conservative Party is not in favor of, but opposition from
both sides, they managed to come to this point.
Speaker 3 (03:34):
Yeah, absolutely, this is the issue where temporary workers Indian
workers in the UK for three years, where employers wouldn't
have to pay national insurance contributions. As you say, it
was something that was controversial to some in the UK
in terms of what Kis Darma has done and he
has succeeded. As you say, we shouldn't diminish. Actually what
(03:55):
does seem to be a success Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak.
Neither of those former leaders were able to sign and
deliver this deal with India, the most populous country in
the world and as you say, one growing fast.
Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yes there is. There was a joke, right Boris Johnson
said it would happen in Devali that year, and then
Rishisunak said it would happen in the Vallei and a
lot of de valleys came and went. But I think
we shouldn't take away from the fact that Rishisunaks when
he was in power, you know, there was a lot
of back stage negotiations that were going on then, and
(04:31):
that when the Labor government came into power, they actually
went through a lot of these briefing documents. Is what
we're hearing reported in the media and what we are
being told and then built on that foundation and Reynolds
went to India in twenty twenty four when he was
in the opposition, and at that time he met the
Commerce Minister. So the talks have been underway on key
(04:54):
issues for a while, and I think the two things
that may have been holding back Rishisunak's go was he
was seen as a leader whose time was limited, so
it was harder to strike a deal with him. And
remember all of the controversies around immigration and visas that
got linked to this deal under Suella Bravomen, which really
(05:16):
didn't help the sentiment and which didn't endear India to
what was going on. But I think the Labor government
made this a priority and you know, both the common
secretaries here and in India have been talking behind the
scenes for months now and they managed to pull it off.
Speaker 4 (05:33):
Perhaps not surprising, but the geopolitics didn't really come up,
or that the two leaders weren't keen to talk about it.
But India has a pretty close relationship with Russia, doesn't
It buys a lot of Russian oil. It's just something
that you discussed with the Trade minis. So what did
he have to say on that?
Speaker 1 (05:46):
Yes, I did discuss it in the context of the
trade deal that India's trying to ink before August first,
when the tariffs that President Trump has promised come into effect.
And I asked, you know, is this something that is
part of the negotiations, and he wouldn't be drawn into it,
but he said this was not an issue, and he said,
(06:07):
this extra ten percent that the US has said they're
going to impose on bricks nations didn't come up. I
think the context around India and Russia is that you know,
they have for decades now had closed eyes and that's
not something that Modi's government thinks that they are going
to give up. And for so far, you know, it's
(06:28):
worked effectively for them because India has such a big
market which Western countries are keen to tap into, so
they are ready to kind of make those I don't know,
fostian agreements maybe.
Speaker 3 (06:40):
Okay, thank you so much for being with us this morning.
That is London Bureau Chief with David who was speaking
to India's trade minister on that visit push Kuel, So
thank you so much for going through the interview and
the trade deal.
Speaker 4 (06:55):
Well, John, about Karen Billmoria, Lord Billamuria chair of the
International Chamber of Commerce and founder of Cobra Beer and
Across Bench Peer. Thanks so much for joining us on
the show today. Now you have business sized in both
countries going back many years. What will this mean in
practical terms for trade between the two nations.
Speaker 6 (07:14):
I was there are checkers yesterday when the deal was
signed and it was a celebratory moment because I've been
working on this since I was President of the CBI
of the Confederation British Industry when the negotiations started in
early twenty twenty two, and it took over three years
to get this deal done, fourteen.
Speaker 7 (07:34):
Rounds of negotiations.
Speaker 5 (07:35):
We've got to keep in mind that India doesn't hasn't
historically done many bilateral pre trade agreements.
Speaker 7 (07:40):
We as a country the UK.
Speaker 5 (07:42):
When I was president's CBI, we rode over sixty six
trade greements that the EU had with other countries like Canada,
which now the UK has, and then we had our
new ones like Australia and New Zealand, very comprehensive deals.
This is the most comprehensive of the biggest trade deal
that the UK has done since Brexit. It's great news
for British business. But let's just put it in a perspective.
(08:05):
We are the sixth largest economy in the world. India
is now the fourth largest economy in the world. India
is that you've just heard, the fastest growing major economy
in the world, growing it over six percent a year,
and yet India is only the eleventh largest trading partner
of the UK. It should be one of the handful
of largest trading partners. Our bilateral trade in goods and
services at the moment is about forty two billion pounds.
Speaker 7 (08:25):
I think as a result of this Free Trade.
Speaker 5 (08:27):
Groupment being signed now that will more than double to
over eighty billion pounds within the next five years, because
this free trade agreement really will be a catalyst to
propel trade, business and investment both ways between our two countries.
For example, the tariffs that you've just heard about one
hundred and fifty percent on Scotch whiskey going down to
seventy five percent and then down to forty percent, and
(08:47):
India is the bigges Scotch whiskey market.
Speaker 7 (08:49):
In the world.
Speaker 5 (08:50):
Cars imported into India wood charge now right now one
hundred percent duty, but that's going to go down to
ten percent on a quota basis. So this is very
good news for the Indian consumer, good news for British sports.
Speaker 7 (09:00):
Both countries will benefit from this deal in a big way.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
In terms of how quickly that's going to actually come
into effect. With your deep experience in business, which sectors
do you think it's going to benefit most quickly? As
you say, it is a major step forward and surely
a win for Kissed Arma.
Speaker 7 (09:21):
This should have been agreed much much a long ago,
but it was not.
Speaker 5 (09:25):
I mean we had elections last year in both countries,
so that delays things as well. But you have instant
wins when it comes to things like tariff. I mean
Scotch whiskey is predicted that exports will increase by a
billion pounds very very quickly. With cars as well, I
mean our British cars, premium cars are very well respected
and liked in India. Jaguarlangra which is actually owned by Tartans,
an Indian company, and of course we have investments the
(09:47):
other way around. JCD and India has huge operations and
the export from India.
Speaker 7 (09:51):
Around the world.
Speaker 5 (09:52):
But when it comes to leather goods being exported over
here from India and other items, the duties have come
right down and in some cases will completely eliminated. But
a lot a bit beyond this, this free trade agreement
is also about education. Foreign universities can now open up
in India and we've already got for example, Southampton University
(10:13):
that started building its campus just outside Delhi in India.
We have other universities Liverpool that have now decided to
open up campus in India.
Speaker 7 (10:21):
I was chance at the University of Birmingham.
Speaker 5 (10:22):
We opened up the campus in Dubai, which was a
huge success within two years. So that's another big opportunity
for our education sector. I mean, our verisure universities are
the best in the world along with America. We've got
four out of the top ten in the world. America's
got four, there's one Singapore and one Swiss. So you know,
universities are the best, the best, and that's a big
opportunity for us. The twinning, I mean, the other thing
(10:43):
is doing joint degrees. For example, in AI and data science,
we launched a joint master's degree between the IT. The
its are the elite engineering institutions in India, the most
difficult education establishments to get entry into.
Speaker 7 (10:56):
Anywhere in the world.
Speaker 5 (10:57):
The joint AI and Data Science degree with the University
of Birmingham one and a half years, where students spend
time in each country, in each campus and come.
Speaker 7 (11:04):
Out with a joint degree from both institutions.
Speaker 5 (11:06):
That's the future going ahead, where India's not seen as
an outsourcing destination, It's seen as a partner. India is
now doing phenomenal research and development and innovation that Britain.
Speaker 7 (11:16):
Can partner it.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
And the other aspect of courses in today's geopolitical world
is the defense and security. India and the UK are
now increasingly working closer together. Joint exercises with the Air Force,
Navy and Army Office has been posted at each other's
education institutions such as Lawal College. Defense down easier in
the National Defense College in India. That defense manufacturing where
(11:38):
we've got enormous capability. But at the moment India has
been procuring a lot of its defense equipment from Russia,
from Brans, from Israel. The last big British deal was
the Hawk trainers. When David Cammon was Prime Minister, were
be doing.
Speaker 7 (11:52):
Much more defense.
Speaker 4 (11:53):
Well, what's it like doing business in India these days?
For companies looking to scope out in new markets. Is
it still a difficult place to do business because it's
not traditionally been an open economy as it Well, if
you go back.
Speaker 5 (12:05):
To nineteen ninety one when the Indian economy was on
its knees and had two weeks worth of foreign exchange
and doctor Monmoon saying there was a finance minister.
Speaker 7 (12:12):
Then they had the bailout by.
Speaker 5 (12:14):
The IMT and India then started to liberalize and that
took about ten years to kick in, and it was
only from about two thousand and two that the liberalization
really took effect and then turbo charge and one stage
India has growth reached almost ten percent a year. Now
it's well, it was six percent consistently. But what has
happened is that that entrepreneur or spirit in India that
(12:36):
was completely suppressed by the bureaucracy, by the closed economy,
that protected economy, has been unleashed over the past two
and a half decades.
Speaker 7 (12:45):
And you can see it.
Speaker 5 (12:46):
You can feel it the number of uniforms being created
in India.
Speaker 7 (12:50):
The tech that is happening over there. We see it
here in the UK. We have some of the.
Speaker 5 (12:54):
Top Indian tech companies helping every aspect of British life,
including the NHS, the public sector, of the private sector,
Tata consulting services in versus Whippro. They've got huge tech mander,
huge operations in the UK and that is seen India
get on the global stage and not looked upon as
an outsourcing the destination with a country that has true
capabilities to partner with in force and manufacturing.
Speaker 7 (13:17):
It's a priority in India. Are manufacturing in the UK.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
We are now the eleventh largest manufacturer in the world
in absolute terms. We've got exit manufacturing in the UK.
India wants to increase the size and manufacturings. The percentage
of GDP for US here and drop to billill ten percent.
India wants to increase into twenty five percent. You've got
Apple phones now being manufactured in India in a big way,
Aerospace now being manufactured India.
Speaker 7 (13:39):
Automobiles are also a huge way, so huge potential for
both countries.
Speaker 3 (13:44):
Yeah, and then the government here in the UK wants
to increase exports in India by nearly six percent in
the long run, by lateral trade by nearly thirty nine percent.
It's about whether that free trade agreement does now deliver
economic growth on both sides of that deal a little
bit more. Thank you so much for being with us.
Karen Billamouria is the chair of the International Chamber of
Commerce in the UK and of course also the founder
(14:07):
of Cobra Beer and a cross bench pier. There's also
one other element, so the FTA has been agreed, but
there is still this investment deal that the Trade minister
who spoke to with David was much more cagey about.
Didn't want to discuss it. But actually there's also this
hoped for bilateral investment deal, so that's the next leg
of these closer ties.
Speaker 4 (14:27):
Yeah, which promises some large figures. With these investment deals,
the details often a little bit sketchy. Lots of good
headlines for the governments on this, but of course these
things take a long time to come through. Nobody's going
to get a job tomorrow because of the Tweeto deal
with India. So over the years to come it should
add to GDP. But whether it boosts the government's ratings
in the short term, I think it's a much more
tricky question.
Speaker 3 (14:48):
Yeah it is, but then you know, you have to
do something to underpin growth and trade is one of
the big answers. We shall see what happens in the
years ahead. That's it, from us forward to David. Like
the program, don't forget to subscribe. Give it five stars
so that other people can find it on Apple Podcasts, Spotify,
or wherever you listen.
Speaker 4 (15:05):
This episode was produced by Tea Adebayer and our audio
engineer was Andrew Gavin.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
I'm you and Potts and I'm Caroline Hepka. We'll be
back with more next week. This is Bloomberg.
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