Scottish companies are being asked to look at the significant opportunities India offers for trade and investment at a special business summit being held in Edinburgh today (August 24).
The India Scotland Business Summit is being organised by Scottish Development International, the international arm of Scotland’s enterprise agencies, the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
It aims to build on the current success in trade with India, with figures showing that Scottish exports to India were worth £242m in 2014, tapping into particular potential in sectors such as BPO, education, IT, biotechnology and energy.
As part of the summit, over 50 companies are attending a special session to hear from senior Indian business representatives about the fast growing Indian economy and the opportunities it presents.
This will include a special address from the High Commissioner of India to the UK, Mr Ranjan Mathai, as well an expert panel discussion on Scottish-Indian economic relations.
Scottish Development International recently set up an Indian High Growth High Growth Market Unit in recognition of the potential of the market. The unit offers extra support both in Scotland and India for companies with the potential and desire to expand into this high opportunity market.
The session will be opened by Paul Lewis, Managing Director Scottish Development International and Scottish Enterprise International Operations, who said:
“Thanks to an expected economic growth rate of 7.5% and a fast growing consumer market predicted to be the world’s largest by 2030, India offers significant opportunities for Scottish exporters. As well as this market size, opportunities and skilled resources, India can also be leveraged as a hub for serving the region and global supply chain.
“We want more companies to look at the opportunities India offers and consider how these can support their plans for international growth.”
Rooma Kr. Bussi, Country Director, Scottish Development International, India said, “India is well on the way to becoming one of the world’s most important economies and one that Scottish companies must not ignore. India has established a global position for itself, across a range of industries including IT, pharmaceuticals, and engineering to name just a few. These are areas in which Scotland excels as well, providing Scottish based companies with a host of opportunities across the Indian market. At the same time, there are sectors where India is looking for more technology, such as healthcare, oil & gas or the clean tech industries. All of these and the education sector are also key industries where Scotland offers world class expertise and a tremendous scope for innovation and collaboration with India."
Shuchita Sonalika, Director-UK, Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), said: "Through the Scottish-India Business Summit, we aim to generate awareness among Scottish companies on doing business in India, particularly under the Make in India campaign. At the same time, the huge interest we are seeing from Indian companies to explore Scotland is also remarkable. Indian companies in the UK – for instance, the Tata Group, Air India, State Bank of India, SBICAPS, and IT majors like Wipro, Zensar and Rolta – are all part of the CII delegation to Edinburgh and enthusiastically looking at possibilities for expansion and collaborative opportunities in Scotland."
The Internationalisation session at India Scotland Business Summit is taking place today at Edinburgh Castle.
The panel discussion will feature Mr. Ranjan Mathai, Indian High Commissioner to the UK; Mr. David Landsman, Executive Director, Tata Limited; Mr. Ravi Pandey, President – EMEA & APAC IPR/IT Rolta India; Mr. Sanjiv Chadha, Regional Head (UK) State Bank of India; and Mr. Rajiv Bhatia, Director – ME, Gulf & Indian Sub, William Grant & Sons.
The session will be followed by a reception at the Edinburgh Military Tattoo, which this year features a Bollywood Dance display as part of its East meets West theme. With support from the Scottish Government Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund a company of 12 performers and a choreographer have travelled to Edinburgh where they will join 40 dancers drawn from Asian dance groups across Scotland.
The High Growth Markets Unit offers support to companies to access high growth markets such as India, China and the Middle East. It can help SME’s with market intelligence, international connections, help to assess a company’s international capacity, support with international expansion and planning the route to market.