ENARADA, Bangalore, July 5, 2013:
British High Commissioner to India, Sir James Bevan, launched the British Business Group Bangalore chapter in Bangalore today. BBG Bangalore will aim to provide members with business contacts in India and in the UK and a platform for networking and leveraging business contacts and opportunities.
BBG-Bangalore is part of the BBG National network in India, with chapters in Chennai, Delhi, Goa, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Pune. By becoming a member of BBG – Bangalore, you have the ability to attend any meetings at any of the BBGs across India.
Addressing industry leaders on the occasion, Sir James said: “My Prime Minister David Cameron wants a stronger, wider, deeper partnership with India. Working together India and Britain will be safer, richer, and stronger. Nowhere is there greater potential for that partnership than here in Bangalore – which was one of the reasons why on his first visit to India after becoming Prime Minister, it was to this city and not to any other outside the capital that David Cameron chose to come. And why I am a frequent visitor myself.”
Sir James said an example of where the UK and India can come together is in the proposed Bangalore Mumbai Economic Corridor (BMEC). He said: “The UK aims to partner with India, and with the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra, in the design, development and delivery of that corridor. We are working with the Indian side on a feasibility study. We hope it will become a flagship for the broader UK/India partnership we seek.”
Earlier in the day, he met Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and conveyed the UK’s interest to work with India and Karnataka in design, development and delivery of the BMEC. Mr Siddaramaiah, too, said Karnataka welcomed avenues for cooperation with the UK.
Speaking at the BBG launch, Sir James said the attractions of Bangalore have already brought many successful UK businesses here; some examples are Rolls Royce, which recently opened a manufacturing facility here in partnership with HAL. Other big UK aerospace companies like BAE are here too. ARM – whose microchips are in 95% of the world’s mobile phones — has a Bangalore campus. Tesco’s service centre here controls operations in all Tesco stores around the world.
Sir James noted that Infosys and Wipro are major employers in the UK. Many other ICT companies from Bangalore are now in the UK as well: Mindtree Consulting, Microland, Sasken, ITC Infotech and Symphony Services to name a few. In the lifesciences, companies like Biocon, Avesthagen, Strides Arcolabs and Microlabs all have a presence in the UK.
“So Bangalore’s been good for Britain. And, I submit, Britain is good for Bangalore, and for Karnataka. The British government will do all it can to support UK business in India and to support Indian business in the UK. We welcome the efforts of the Indian authorities, at both state and national level, to do the same. All of us in government need to remember that it is business that generates the wealth that government spends. And we need to remember that all businesses have a choice,” he added.
British deputy high commissioner Ian Felton said: “BBG provides an excellent platform for networking and leveraging business contacts and opportunities. It will provide you with business contacts in India and in the UK. Membership enables a company or an individual with an opportunity to understand the Indian and UK business landscape, develop business contacts and gain business opportunities. BBG is also an excellent way to update members on some of the most relevant business issues.”
