UK And India Committed To Mutual Cooperation For Sustainability And Economic Growth

Businesses in India, the UK, and indeed all over the world, are playing a key role in contributing to sustainable development and overcoming the key challenges of the century. That includes supporting a greener future, helping to widen education and skilling opportunities, and maintaining a healthy population. As this important role crosses national borders through trade and investment, the scope for international collaboration is hugely positive, to the benefit of both business and wider society.

This expanded role of business is the result of evolving priorities of investors, employees, and consumers. Not only are these the ‘right’ things to do, but they are also measurable, recognisable and economically sustainable approaches. Increasingly, people want to work for such companies, consumers want to buy goods and services from companies which are recognised as helping the environment, and more and more investors are increasing their weightings towards such sustainable practices, accelerating behaviour at Board Level and within ‘C-Suites’.

The UN Sustainable Development Goals are the universal framework for sustainable development, made up of 17 goals that cover all aspects of development, from hunger and sanitation to industry and climate action. As the now largest population in the world, India is at the forefront of this global drive and vital to the achievement of the SDGs.

With a 600-plus strong presence of UK businesses established and operating in India, UK businesses are playing an important role in India’s development, employing around 466,000 directly (and many more indirectly) and active in sectors from advanced manufacturing to aerospace and defence, and higher education. Similarly, 950 Indian businesses operating in the UK employ around 105,000 people and are working with partners in critical areas such as renewable energy, future mobility, and digital technology – like Essar, Tata, Ola, and Mahindra Group for instance. Together, both countries benefit from shared learnings, development of R&D and technology progress.

It was therefore positive to see the signing of a landmark UK-India research agreement in April to support more such collaborations on climate change, industrial decarbonisation, pandemic preparedness, and AI and machine learning, among other areas. The agreement was signed following a meeting between Indian Minister of State for Science and Technology Dr Jitendra Singh and UK Science Minister George Freeman.

The net result of this more conscientious action plan for India and other partner countries is responsible, sustainable products for consumers that meet the needs of today and the future, more sustainable business practices, and support for local communities. And as trade, investment and collaborations take place between our countries, companies gain new technologies, new ways of working, and direct support to bolster their efforts, to the advantage of wider society in both countries.

It is worth keeping this in mind when we consider the opportunities that an expanded UK-India trade and investment relationship will help to unlock to enable more UK and Indian to collaborate. The economic benefits are enormous – take the ambition to reach GBP 50 billion in annual bilateral trade for instance. In the last four quarters (to the end of Q4 2022), trade hit an impressive GBP 35.9 billion – an increase of 45% on the previous four quarters. But the social and environmental impacts are important to recognise too.

Trade and investment between the UK and India should be and is about partnership, collaboration, and a two-way relationship. This collaboration is helping to widen and deepen prosperity in education, healthcare, gender equality, and energy, as well as creating jobs and economic growth.

(Richard Heald is Chair, UK India Business Council.)