CII Communique - February, 2010

eport
United Kingdom
Meeting with Sir Andrew Cahn
Sir Andrew Cahn, CEO, UK Trade and Investment (UKTI),
visited the Auto Expo in New Delhi on 5 January and
had a closed door meeting with CII. The senior members
present at the meeting were Mr Rajive Kaul, Past
President, CII, Mr Ravi Kant, President, SIAM, and Vice
Chairman, Tata Motors, and Mr V K Mathur, Chairman
and Managing Director, Inapex Pvt Ltd.
Mr Kaul briefed Sir Andrew on a number of issues
concerning Indian industry in the UK. Topping the list
was the new proposed changes to the immigration rules
whereby restrictions will be applied to work permits in
the services sector.
Another concern was the National Insurance system
whereby Indians residing in the UK cannot get the
benefit of reclaiming their money when they leave UK
at the end of their term. This is a huge loss to Indians
as well as all non EU residents working in the UK.
Recognition of Indian degrees and universities was
another point raised, especially in light of the growing
importance of the skills and higher education sector
and the increasing cooperation in this sector.
On the agenda was also the new proposed EU regulation
which is expected to come into force in April 2010
according to which all non-EU companies in UK will be
subject to extra VAT. Sir Andrew Cahn requested for a
paper to be submitted on this particular issue.
Mr Kant briefed Sir Andrew on India’s stimulus package
and suggested that UK should adopt something akin to
it to revive the British Industry. The members conveyed
that an inward looking policy will not be conducive to
growth and that the UK government should instead
provide the right kind of stimulus to industry.
Interaction with Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia
Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Deputy Chairman, Planning
Commission of India, addressed an exclusive business
interaction on ‘The Indian Economy: The Outlook 2010’
organized by CII, in cooperation with the Confederation
of British Industry(CBI) in London on 26 January.
On this cold January morning, Dr Ahluwalia informed
a room packed with business leaders from British and
Indian industry, think-tanks and academia, that “India was
looking good. At a time when the world went through an
economic downturn and industrialised countries faced
negative growth India still grew 6.7% and expects to
do above 7% at the end of this fiscal”.
Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India to the UK, S A Hasan,
Director, Tata Ltd, Dr Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Dy. Chairman,
Planning Commission of India, and Terry Hill, Chairman,
Global Transport Market
The real objective, he said, is to get back to high
growth and we hope we’ll get back to nine percent in
2011/2012 . This, he stressed, requires more investment
in infrastructure. The government has to play a very
major role in triggering these investments in a string of
sectors- airports, telecommunications, power, railways,
roads, ports and the way is to do this through public
and private investments so that, by the end of the 11th
five year plan, about 70% of the investment in infrastructure
would be done by the public sector and 30%
by the private sector. He further said that the government
is providing an enabling policy environment to attract
private investment in infrastructure. “The government
has taken necessary steps, now it’s the business of
the private sector to go in and get financial closure and
start implanting projects” said Mr Ahluwalia, noting that
the challenge is financing of these projects.
Dr Ahluwalia pointed out that opportunities exist not
just in physical infrastructure but in all other areas
of infrastructure too, including urban development.
Discussing the constraints, he said that energy is an
area where India, like everybody else, in responding
to the new concern about climate change, is exploring
renewable energy and non-conventional energy sources.
India would also be a natural market for anyone with
ideas in water management, whether for urban areas
or in agriculture, he said.
Mr Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India to UK,
said the Indian public sector has begun to reform very
substantially and will be a very powerful and positive
player in the Indian economy in the years ahead.
60 | February 2010 Communiqué