Bilateral economic and scientific partnership between India and the UK are set to board a higher trajectory with a landmark agreement between the two partners to collaborate on research in science and innovation which will be signed in the British Parliament on Wednesday, that will drive economic growth, create skilled jobs and improve lives in the UK, India, and worldwide. The move towards such an agreement following a meeting between UK Science Minister George Freeman and Minister of State for Science and Technology Jitendra Singh.
This development builds on the India-UK 2nd Financial Markets Dialogue last week which was the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017 focusing on banking, payments and crypto-assets, insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, asset management and sustainable finance. A wide gamut of topics which deepened and expanded the scope for discussion and collaboration included knowledge exchange on regulatory frameworks for pension funds (PFs) in respective countries, potential investment opportunities by PFs, scope for augmenting knowledge on central banking digital currency through mutual learning possibility for further technical discussion on the effective regulation of ESG rating providers, sustainable finance as well as capacity building and spreading awareness on climate risk and sustainable finance.
In that context, what is significant is the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between India and the UK to remove red tape standing in the way of major collaborations, while unleashing a raft of new joint research schemes aiming to deliver progress on some of the biggest issues facing the world, from climate change and pandemic preparedness. As per the MoU, the plan includes establishment of a new UK-India Net Zero Innovation Virtual Centre focusing on industrial decarbonisation and launching the first ever UK-India scientific deep sea voyage.
The UK and India are leading research nations and research partners from the ocean floor to outer space – via agriculture, health, decarbonisation and AI and with India rapidly building on its phenomenal software and innovation sectors to become a global powerhouse in science and technology, the agreement, says Alex Ellis, British High Commissioner to India, is “another big step in delivering the UK-India 2030 Roadmap. We’ll continue to bring our brightest minds and best tech together to forge a prosperous, clean and healthy fourth industrial revolution for future generations,” Ellis said.
Alongside this momentous agreement, India has also been named as partner for the UK’s International Science Partnerships Fund, carrying forward the UK-India science partnership built through the Newton-Bhabha fund. This renewed partnership will start with a £5 million UK funding, matched by India, for research into farmed animal diseases and health and a £3.3 million UK funding, matched by India, towards a technology and skills partnership programme that will enable UK and Indian researcher to develop skills, technologies and knowledge in areas such as AI, machine learning and bio-imaging
Taking forward the financial dialogue and desire to engage bilaterally on mutually agreed areas are the recommendations on the UK-India financial services relationship from business leaders of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), a IUKFP report on ‘harnessing the power of fintech and data’ which envisages further engagement with the UK-India FinTech Joint Working Group and other recommendations on equity capital markets connectivity. All the topics of mutual interest will be further deliberated on, in the coming months, at the Sustainable Finance Forum in June to advance green cooperation followed by the ministerial Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) later in the year.