Mumbai, 14 January, 2019 (GPN) : 30% of UK companies operating in India are based in Maharashtra employing almost a quarter of a million people across the State.[1]These include UK giants of industry such as JCB, Perkins Engines, and Diageo with global reputation. Having topped the UK India Business Council’s (UKIBC) 2018 ease of doing business survey for the State most improving ease of doing business in the last 5 years, it is little mystery as to why 25% of India-based UK companies are now looking to expand further into Maharashtra in the next year.

To realise this new momentum for Maharashtra’s economy, the UKIBC had yesterday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Govt of Maharashtra. This MOU is about increasing the connections between UK businesses and Maharashtra that deliver investment, jobs, and economic growth for both.

Through a series of dialogues on the ease of doing business and annual Ministerial and business delegation visits, MIDC and UKIBC will now be working together to facilitate trade and investment through collaboration, sharing information, promoting ease of doing business, and smoothing investor interactions in respective markets. In short, this MoU will act as a long-term business framework for India-U.K. businesses and the foundation for bilateral cooperation.

The MoU was signed during a UKIBC delegation to the Partnership Summit 2019 in Mumbai where leading UK Businesses at showcased their commitment toward intensifying strategic investment in Maharashtra.

At the Summit, the delegation held roundtable meetings with both Shri Devendra Fadnavis, Chief Minister of Maharashtra, and Shri Suresh Prabhu, Union Minister of Commerce & Civil Aviation, focusing on the businesses investments plans in Maharashtra and the support needed from government and local industries to realise these opportunities.

Crispin Simon, British Deputy High Commissioner Mumbai & West of India and Her Majesty’s Trade Commissioner, South Asia shared “Congratulations to MIDC and UKIBC on this important partnership.  Maharashtra has an impressive record in attracting international investment but it’s a competitive field and UKIBC are well-equipped to help take the pitch to the next level”.

Speaking on the occasion Richard Heald, Group CEO UKIBC shared “I am delighted to be deepening our relationship with the Maharashtra Government, one of the most pro-active States in India for business, and with whom we have a long and productive relationship. Our roundtable today and the MoU takes this to the next level. It enables UKIBC to help UK companies learn more about the opportunities in Maharashtra and facilitates the dialogue between investors, Ministers and senior bureaucrats necessary to deliver investment.”

The MoU was signed by Dr. P Anbalagan, CEO on behalf of Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC), the premier industrial infrastructure development agency of the Government of Maharashtra and Mr. Richard McCallum, Managing Director, UKIBC in the august presence of Shri Subhash Rajaram Desai, Minister for Industries, Maharashtra.

Talking about the MoU, Dr. Anbalagan, MIDC, stated“wherever you look – in finance, technology or education, our economic and personal ties are thriving and there is scope and willingness on both sides to do more. The MOU establishes a broad-based understanding between the Government of Maharashtra and UKIBC that they will collaborate in areas of mutual interest to support their respective roles.” ENDS