'Cooperation among SMEs in India, UK to lead future'

CII – SME Delegation to Basildon, UK.

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Saurabh Gupta | 12 Mar, 2011
Collaborative efforts between the Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) of United Kingdom (UK) and India, in manufacturing, with a focus on Advanced Engineering would help create stronger ties between the two countries, said, Nalin Surie, High Commissioner of India in the UK at the inaugural of the UKIBC Annual Summit, in Manchester, on Thursday.

Speaking on the theme for the summit, i.e. Building a 21st century special relationship, he emphasized the need for a mechanism, to facilitate interaction between the SMEs in India and UK.

Leading a 25 member strong SME delegation, Ramesh Datla, Chairman, CII National MSME Council mentioned that the next decade could well witness the rise of the Indian SMEs as the producers of world class products driven by their thrust to leverage the best technologies, from across the globe.

The CII MSME delegation comprises of members with interest in diverse sectors such as Home Appliances, Rubber & Plastic Automotive components, Consumer Durables, Electronic Analytical Instruments, Embedded and Application Software Development for Analytical Instruments, Analytical/Laboratory Instruments, IT enabled services for Healthcare Industry, Financial Services, Venture Capital Financial & Management consultancy, Education, Skills, etc., that represent the Indian industry, from all the four corners, of India, .

Peter Sands, Co Chairman, India UK CEOs Forum and Group Chief Executive, Standard Chartered Bank, highlighted the eagerness of UK to collaborate with Indian counterparts across identified sectors. UK investment in India is a reflection of our commitment and importance that we attach to relations with India, he added.

The Advanced Engineering & Manufacturing, according to Gurpal Singh, Deputy Director General, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) assume immense importance for the business linkages between India and UK, especially in the area of SMEs, as new collaborations assumes renewed importance for realizing contribution by manufacturing to Indian GDP upto 25% by 2025.

Lord Karan Bilimoria, President, UKIBC and Founder and Chairman, Cobra Beer Partnership, mentioned that it is vital that the UK based SMEs looking to make a break through in India should eye tier 2 and/or tier 3 cities of India. The cities have tremendous potential and the returns from the same could be massive, he added. Each of the rising Indian cities provides a positive business environment that represents a variety of commercial opportunities for UK companies.

The UKIBC Annual summit witnessed both industry and Government come together and have healthy discussions in the six breakout sessions on the themes of Advanced Manufacturing and Engineering, Infrastructure, Life Sciences & Healthcare, Education and Skills Development, Innovation and Logistics, Retails & Supply Chain Management.

Key points discussed, during the summit, included identification of capacity building in supply chain and logistics, promoting institutional collaborations between industry and universities for enhancement of competencies through capacity building and technology transfer in hitech areas such as Defence, Aerospace etc, create innovative business models based on the needs of both countries.