The United Kingdom is keen on exploring trade and investment opportunities in infrastructure, healthcare and IT sectors in the Union Territory of Puducherry, Oliver Ballhatchet, Deputy High Commissioner, British Deputy High Commission for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, said here on Friday.
Mr. Ballhatchet, on a brief visit to Puducherry, said he found the industrial plan laid down during a presentation by the Pondicherry Industrial Promotion Development and Investment Corporation Limited (PIPDIC) “ambitious and exciting”.
This is his first visit since assuming office in Chennai after stints at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on counter-terrorism, the British Embassy in Brasilia, Brazil, on energy and climate change, the British Consulate-General in Rio de Janeiro, as Political Consul and as the Deputy Head of the UK Government’s UN peacekeeping joint unit. His work as the Olympic and Paralympic Attaché for the British teams at the 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games also led to his appointment as a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in 2017.
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The Deputy High Commissionerate in Chennai, which liaisons with the Department for International Trade, UK Government, expects to engage more closely in the Union Territory, said Mr. Ballhatchet.
The other areas identified as having immense potential were tourism and renewable energy. The thrust of the government’s industrial policy has been to promote non-polluting enterprises and industries that are not heavily dependent on power or water. The government is also banking on developing the port into a strategic hub.
Mr. Ballhatchet, has also invited PIPDIC representatives to the ‘Future Mobility’ mission scheduled to be held over two days January in Chennai, which would feature a delegation from the automotive sector.
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‘Future Mobility’
The ‘Future Mobility’ segment is one among the high focus areas identified under the UK-India FutureTech festival rolled out last year to mine opportunities for collaboration through a series of thought leadership summits involving top British and Indian technology companies. Some of the areas are Artificial Intelligence, Internet of Things, big data and cyber security.
The Deputy Commissioner later called on Lt. Governor Kiran Bedi at the Raj Nivas.
In a press note, the Lt. Governor said the discussion focused on possible areas of collaboration including infrastructure, language skills development, youth leadership and student scholarships.
Study visa
Meanwhile, the UK is also expecting more Indian students following a new visa rule that allows a two-year post-study stay for landing a job. The latest UK immigration statistics that came out on November 28 show a 63 per cent jump in Indian students choosing to study in the UK. Over 30,000 Indian students were given study visas till September 2019, which was 19,000 more than that of the previous year.
“At present, Indian applicants account for roughly 50 per cent of all work visas issued in the UK,” he said.