From bilateral trade to student visas; 7 key things PM Modi told Theresa May

Britain's Prime Minister, Theresa May (L) and her Indian counterpart Prime Minister, Narendra Modi at the India-UK Tech Summit at Hyderabad House, New Delhi: Image Source: Reuters

In her first ever trade mission and bilateral trip, UK Prime Minister, Theresa May met with Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi on Monday at Hyderabad House in Delhi.

Here are key takeaways from what PM Modi told Theresa May.

1. Bilateral Trade: Pointing out that the quantum of bilateral trade has remained at the same level for the past five years, PM Modi said that investments have been robust. “India is the 3rd largest investor in UK, and UK is the largest G20 investor in India. Both countries support large numbers of jobs in each other’s economies,” he said.

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2. UK Student Visas: The Prime Minister fortified higher number of UK student visas he said, “I am happy to note that the India-UK Tech Summit focuses on higher education. Education is vital for our students and will define our engagement in a shared future. We must therefore encourage greater mobility and participation of young people in educational and research opportunities.”

3. Clean Energy: Speaking about the science and technology initiatives by the country, PM Modi said, “We have agreed to establish India-UK Clean Energy R&D Centre on solar energy with joint investment of 10 million pounds. A new Anti-Microbial Resistance initiative with joint investment of 15 million pounds is also being launched.”

4. Digital India: PM Modi said that India will soon have over a billion phone connections with an urban tele-density of around 154% and 350 million internet users which extends an invitation to UK and Indian companies.
Attempting to spike UK’s interest in the ‘Digital India’ plan he said, “There is an opportunity for India and UK to collaborate in the Digital India Program and expand information convergence and people centric e-governance.”

5. Financial Technology: With the launch of the Jan Dhan Yojana, Narendra Modi spoke of the transformation within the financial technology sector in India and asked for UK’s leadership in the same. “This financial inclusion scheme is being melded with mobile technology and the unique identification card to form the largest social security program in the world. With UK’s leadership in financial technology and international finance, promising opportunities can be harnessed by our enterprises in this mission,” PM Modi said.

6. Make in India: Another sector for UK-India bilateral talks would be ‘Make in India,’ wherein UK could aid in providing FDI policies in defence manufacturing, aerospace and electronics engineering sectors, Modi said.

7. Smart City projects: Encouraging more participation in the Smart City initiative Modi said, “The ‘Smart City’ mission aims to integrate digital technology into our rapidly urbanizing environment. I am glad that there is already a high level of interest from the UK in projects in Pune, Amaravati and Indore. I understand that UK companies have already signed deals worth 9 billion pounds and I encourage more participation.”

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Theresa May Theresa May in India UK Prime Minister Narendra Modi Economy UK student visa Bilateral trade Smart City project Digital India project Make in India