On 1 February 2018, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group organised a historic showcase of Indian companies in UK at the Houses of Parliament with Grant Thornton and launched the ‘Manchester India Partnership’ to enhance regional connect.
The showcase was attended by over 100 stakeholders, nearly 20 Members of Parliament. With Virendra Sharma MP, Chair of Indo British APPG as the Parliamentary host and Dr David Landsman, Chair, CII India Business Forum and Executive Director, Tata Limited as the Chair for the proceedings, the showcase was supported by the High Commissioner of India, Shri YK Sinha, and headlined by Rt Hon Matthew Hancock, Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport and Baroness Rona Fairhead, Minister of State for International Trade.
The programme, including an Inaugural Session, ‘India Meets Britain’ Report Highlights, Rapid-fire panel Discussion, the launch of the Manchester-India Partnership, and a walkthrough exhibition of Indian companies in the UK Parliament, was extremely well-received. The overall acknowledgment was that such showcases are crucial to highlight positive India stories in the UK. This report presents the key highlights of the Manchester India Partnership.