Modi visit: ‘Big ambitions’ for UK-India relationship

• PM Narendra Modi, who is visiting UK for three days, said India’s relationship with the UK is of “immense importance”.
  

• “Not simply to celebrate the immense economic ties, with India a top investor into Britain and Britain a top investor into India, but actually building a thoroughly modern partnership between our two great countries,” David Cameron, UK PM said.
•  PM Modi and UK PM David Cameron are likely to sign deals between Indian and UK firms worth more than USD 18bn.
• The leaders said they would collaborate on issues including finance, defence, nuclear power and climate change.
• Key changes to the FDI regime include raising the limit for FDI approvals from the Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to Rs 5,000 crore from Rs 3,000 crore, increasing foreign-investor limits in several sectors including private banks, defence and non-news entertainment media as well as allowing property developers to sell completed projects to foreign investors without lock-in periods.
• Top sectors attracting investments from the UK include oil and natural gas, ports, roads and highways, chemicals, electronic equipment and telecommunications.
• Officials said a proposal for the purchase of 20 additional Hawk trainers built by BAE systems could be announced.
• Indian companies have invested strongly in the UK, with a total of $11.3 billion of investments between January 2003 and August 2015.

Source: EconomicTimes