India is globally recognised as a technology superpower. Its reputation for technology excellence is firmly established and celebrated across the globe. There is no sphere in which India is not making its mark.
Like India, the United Kingdom is a research and innovation powerhouse.
The UK has won more Nobel prizes for science that any country except the United States of America; and per head of population the UK out-performs even the USA. As we saw during the pandemic, the UK’s life sciences companies created vaccines at unprecedented pace. In 2024, the UK is behind only the USA and China in attracting VC investments into technology companies, and London alone has more tech start-ups than the rest of Europe combined. It is also worth recalling that a British man, Tim Berners Lee, invented the internet.
Given the UK’s and India’s excellence, our businesses and universities have formed ground-breaking partnerships to address global challenges like climate change, healthcare, defence and security, and financial inclusion.
An array of examples in these areas and more will feature in new UKIBC reports published next month. They will also be showcased at a UK India Technology Future Conference in Delhi on November 21, 2024 which will feature industry and government leaders and set the direction for an ever-closer partnership that develops new technologies for global good.
I want to highlight just three important areas of collaboration: energy transition and net zero; fintech for inclusion; and new technologies that are critical for national security.
The UK and India have commitments to be net zero by 2050 and 2070 respectively. Both governments have set interim targets and are introducing enabling policies. In response, scientists, academics, and businesses in both countries, often in partnership, are collaborating on new technologies to achieve net zero.
There is a wide range of compelling UK-India clean energy partnerships. For instance, Essar Energy Transitions work on hydrogen and Glasgow University’s partnership with Apollo Tyres to reduce energy consumption in manufacturing processes. These are not isolated examples. Ohers can be found across green steel, solar and wind power technologies, and many more.
It is also important to mention financial investment from the UK in India’s race to net zero. UK banks in India – HSBC, Standard Chartered and Barclays – already invest many billions of dollars in India’s green economy. Just one of them, HSBC, has invested $5 billion in the past five years and are partnering with IIT Bombay and Shakti Sustainable Energy Foundation (SSEF) on innovation to make green hydrogen more efficient, cost-effective, and scalable. Additionally, British International Investment has invested nearly 400 million dollars in the electric vehicle ecosystem in India, including Ayana Renewable which is now one of India’s leading Independent Power Producers.
As the long-established global capital of financial services, the UK is, like India, at the cutting edge of fintech. Our two countries have complimentary strengths, so there is immense opportunity to deepen collaboration.
One area is to partner to increase the penetration of insurance in India, and across the developing world. Increased access to affordable health insurance will save lives and increase the quality of lives, and greater access to insurance for farmers de-risks them from crop failure.
When the UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, was in New Delhi in July, the UK and India launched the Technology Security Initiative (TSI), which deepen collaboration in critical and emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, quantum, biotech and health-tech, critical minerals, and advanced materials. The TSI will also expand existing bilateral programmes and establish new mechanisms for cooperation.
This exciting Initiative will bring our countries closer together. It will also support India’s goal of becoming a manufacturing and export hub. For instance, the UK and India have complimentary strengths and ambitions in biotech, so there is significant potential for partnerships, like those we saw during the pandemic, for more vaccines, medicines, and medical devices to be made in India for the world, particularly the global south.
The TSI sits alongside the opportunity for the UK and India to deepen the partnership on defence and security. With regional wars raging and geopolitical tensions rising, it is important that friends work together. Alongside the USA, the UK is the leading world power in aerospace, defence and security technologies. The India-UK partnership is already close, for example, Rolls Royce is co-creating new technologies with HAL and IAMPL. There is clearly scope for more and, as our governments align on technology security, it is hoped that defence and aerospace partnerships will expand and flourish.
So, across a multitude of fields, the UK and India are partnering to develop technology that impacts the world, while creating jobs and growth in both countries. Much has been done, but lots more still to do.
This article is authored by Kevin McCole, managing director, UKIBC.
