Launch of club to improve trade link with India

Business links between Yorkshire and India are “under-represented” according to the deputy high commissioner of India.
Working together: The Indian Business Club aims to provide a platform to increase engagement between India and Yorkshire.Working together: The Indian Business Club aims to provide a platform to increase engagement between India and Yorkshire.
Working together: The Indian Business Club aims to provide a platform to increase engagement between India and Yorkshire.

Dr Virander Paul, who was in Yorkshire to help launch Leeds City Region’s Indian Business Club, added that he felt there was a willingness from the business community here in wanting to engage with India.

Dr Paul said he hoped the Indian Business Club would help provide a platform to increase engagement between India and Yorkshire.

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He told The Yorkshire Post: “Our hope is that the launch of the Indian Business Club will provide a good standalone platform for the business community of this region and Indian companies to come together on a more regular and predictable basis, so that both sides can understand each other.

“Understand the opportunities available here, the opportunities available in India and really understand the potential.”

Dr Paul said that the Indian government itself wanted to understand the Yorkshire region better. He said: “We [the High Commission] are an outpost of the Indian government here.

“We are reaching out to Yorkshire to understand the potential here and what brought me here was we haven’t had regular contact in this area.

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“We felt the need to reach out in the area. The figures are not that impressive in terms of presence of Indian companies in the region.”

But this is part of a wider picture of wanting to engage with the UK as a whole, said Dr Paul. He added that he didn’t see any specific barriers to trade and investment between India and the UK.

One factor that could act as an advantage for Yorkshire is the Indian diaspora currently living in the region, who Dr Paul said could help local businesses understand India.

He urged Yorkshire’s business community to look to get involved with new initiatives launched by the Indian government like Make in India, encouraging countries to manufacture their products in India.

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Dr Paul said: “I would say that India’s doors are open for the business community, there’s tremendous opportunities available and they should come forward and make full use of the opportunities.”

Amarjit Singh, chair of Yorkshire Asian Business Association (Yaba), who are joint partners in the Indian Business Club, said: “What we want to do is try and showcase Yorkshire as a place that can fulfil Indian businesses needs.”

Surender Munjal, director of the Indian Centre at the University of Leeds, which is also a partner in the business club said that at the moment the trade and investment was too London centric.

He added that he hoped Dr Paul would relay the importance of Yorkshire and its facilities on offer to businesses to the Indian government.

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Mr Singh said connectivity and transport was an issue that needed to be looked at, with no direct flights from Leeds-Bradford Airport to India at present.

He said: “Lets look at the viability of running an Air India service from here to Delhi or from here to Mumbai.”

Mr Singh added that having a direct flight to India would not only boost business but also cater to the general public, amongst who he says there is a huge demand.

While in Yorkshire Dr Paul also visited the new India Visa and Consular Application Centre in Bradford, offering closer visa access to travellers from Yorkshire.

Sheer scale can be a problem

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One of the difficulties faced by businesses from Yorkshire when looking to trade in India is the sheer scale of the country.

Accountant Rajeev Dewedi, board member at Yaba, said: “Geographical boundaries are so big that from the South to the North, just by aeroplane, it takes three and a half hours.”

There are also other nuances, cultural and linguistic, that need to be taken into consideration, says Mr Dewedi.

“Every region has something different to offer,” he added.

Mr Dewedi said the Indian Business Club will act as a facilitator helping guide businesses on where to begin.

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