A delegation of CEOs of Indian businesses and business leaders from the region were on campus recently at an event hosted by the School of Business and Economics.

The event was part of a longer visit to the UK which began on the 9th June, and was part of addressing the Confederation of Indian Industry’s two-fold agenda: (1) exploring ways to enhance economic ties between India and the UK; and (2) identifying collaborative measures to help each other in the current volatile economic climate.

Organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), the Indo British Trade Council (IBTC) and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI), the event comprised a panel discussion at the School on India-UK business, followed by a tour of the internationally acclaimed R&D centres on campus, including the Additive Manufacturing Research Group, Intelligent Energy and the Sports Technology Institute.

Moderated by Dr Samir Dani and Professor Jim Saker, the event was well attended and included Mr T T Ashok, Managing Director, Taylor Rubber Private Limited; Mr Alok Kirloskar, Non-Executive Director on the Board of Kirloskar Brothers Limited; and Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, Hi-Tech Gears.

The keynote address by Mr Gopalakrishnan (President of the CII and Executive Vice Chairman of Infosys) focussed on ‘Accelerating Economic Growth through Innovation, Transformation, Inclusion and Governance’; and the panel discussion was on ‘Industry-Academic Partnerships and the Future of Advanced Manufacturing’.

Jim Saker said: “The School takes great pride in its partnerships with regional business, from delivering executive education programmes and student placements to collaborating with organisations on research and consultancy projects, and this visit by LABA and the CII reinforces the importance of Asian and Leicestershire companies in the UK’s economy and globally. The School is committed to strengthening its partnerships with regional business, underpinned by the key role our Dean played in the recent Lord Young report on supporting local SMEs, and in our international scope, with visits later this year to five cities in India.”

The Director General of CII, Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, said that the link between the Midlands and India is essential for Indian SMEs and MSMEs to benefit from the manufacturing expertise and innovation available in the companies here.

Mr Gopalakrishnan said that they were delighted to visit the Midlands, and he confirmed that in order to strengthen links between the Midlands and India and to facilitate business opportunities for SMEs and MSMEs in both the Midlands and India, the CII will open its first office outside London in the Midlands, in the Head office of the Leicestershire Asian Business Association (LABA).

The President of LABA, Mr. Jaspal Minhas, was delighted by this news and said that: “it is a very important development and will immensely benefit SMEs and MSMEs in the Midlands to link up with Indian companies for mutual benefit”.

This news was also welcomed by the Chairman of Leicestershire County Council Mrs Rosita Page, CC, and Mr David Slater, the Leader of Charnwood Borough Council, who were also present at the event.

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