UK and India: Partnering to innovate and grow together

India is one of the world's largest and fastest growing economies, an emerging tech powerhouse. Already the

, it is on course to become the

by the end of 2018. New initiatives, such as

(potentially worth £45 billion over 10 years),

(£20-24 billion over 10 years), and Make in India, are set to transform its tech economy. The UK's digital economy is also booming,

. The UK continues to be a competitive destination for international investors, with a tech sector that is

. The UK is well-placed to support partnerships that encourage mutual growth of tech sectors at home and abroad. It has an active venture capital community, more tech 'unicorns' than elsewhere in Europe, a network of incubators and tech clusters, world-leading talent and links between industry, universities and research institutions. There is already a strong, enduring history of collaboration between the two nations. The UK has been the

over the last 10 years, while Indian FDI stock in the

with the

. Technology has long stood at the forefront of this partnership with close to

. With the bilateral trade in goods and services

and seeing year-on-year growth of 15 per cent, India is now set to become a priority area and a natural fit for the UK's newly developing global relationships.

Many companies have already benefited from relationship between India and the UK. Yet, there is still more both countries can gain by partnering in innovation. Both countries recognise this and there is considerable work under way to help tech businesses to forge valuable ties. A major initial step was Theresa May's first bilateral trip outside Europe and first trade mission as Prime Minister to India. Ahead of the visit, in November 2016, techUK and the Indian National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) wrote a joint letter to Prime Ministers May and Modi, calling for a deepened tech relationship to unlock a new wave of digital growth, pioneer innovation partnerships, international talent; share best practice on digital skills, and to reach a trade agreement fit for digital.

Since then, techUK has been moving these priorities forward. Supported by the Indian High Commission in London, the UK's Department of International Trade (DIT), NASSCOM, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and leading UK and Indian tech, the first UK-India Working Group was held at techUK and has started to inform the direction of the UK-India tech trade relationship. In February 2018, this was followed by supporting the Northern Powerhouse's DIT Trade Mission to Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai. techUK is also the UK tech partner for the

- a flagship programme to assist the UK's SMEs with market entry and access to make it in India.

Progress would not have been possible without a growing ecosystem of support for Indian companies in the UK and those from the UK wishing to venture into India. The UK government launched UK-India Week to encourage bilateral trade partnership, while the DIT continues to run the India-UK Rocketship Awards, which help Indian companies scale up, internationalise and access capital by connecting India's fast-rising tech stars with UK's network. UK businesses are now also supported by the City of London Corporation, which helps

companies expand collaboration with India.

A trade agreement is still some way off, but this patchwork of initiatives culminated in the launch of the UK-India Tech Partnership in April 2018. At the core, the Partnership illustrates a joint willingness to intensify collaboration on strengths, investment, innovation and create partnerships between both world-class innovation clusters. As part of the broader UK-India Tech Partnership, techUK has also formed a new

with NASSCOM, bringing senior tech leaders to offer advice to the governments on collaboration, skills, new technologies, and developing policy to nurture growth.

Since the launch of the Tech Partnership, there has been significant progress. For example, both countries are now driving innovation and R&D, establishing new links between UK regional and Indian state-level tech clusters. This includes pairing businesses, venture capitalists and universities. With funding of

, the initial links will connect the UK's Midlands Engine with Maharashtra, focusing on the Future of Mobility, including low emission and autonomous vehicles, battery storage and vehicle light-weighting. Additional connections are planned between the Northern Powerhouse and Karnataka with a focus on augmented and virtual reality, advanced materials and artificial intelligence. techUK's call for a UK-India Tech Hub in India has also been answered. The Hub will be a platform to share the best technologies; bring together hi-tech companies to create investment and export opportunities; and advance policy collaboration on future mobility, advanced manufacturing and healthcare IT. There are also encouraging steps being taken in immigration policy, including the extension of the Super Priority Visa to a further two Indian cities (Pune and Bangalore) and the new 'start-up visas' for Indian entrepreneurs in the UK. We continue to support both governments in developing a robust skills and talent migration policy that allows for frictionless movement of tech skills and talent across the borders.

Our activities do not stop there. techUK is also engaged to ensure both UK and India tech policies are aligned. For example, on India's Data Protection Bill, collaboration on a multilateral level and on skills development. We are supporting the Government in delivering the UK Digital Strategy and tackling the Grand Challenges set out in the UK's Industrial Strategy. Furthermore, we have launched the UK-India Tech Forum for businesses to engage with key stakeholders in government and business on UK-India trade, policy and market growth. We're also preparing for the FutureTech Festival. In addition to my role participating on a high-level panel, techUK is supporting the DIT's trade mission and organising an Alliance meeting in Delhi, where businesses will discuss strategic areas for cooperation. The relationship the UK fosters with growing digital economies is paramount as it looks to build a Global Britain. Working with members and partners, techUK is determined to build on the already successful relationship between the UK and India. As this relationship develops, it is important that both hubs support policies that encourage trade growth. For the UK, that means ensuring post-Brexit migration is fit for purpose. For India, we encourage the Government to ensure it doesn't inhibit international data flows, which are the life blood of the modern digital economy. The ambitious UK-India Tech Partnership brings together the best minds in tech to unlock its potential, deliver high-skilled jobs and economic growth. In embracing this partnership fully, the like-minded ambition and dedication to innovation will supercharge both digital economies for the future.