India

India's highly educated workforce and strong work ethic is recognised throughout the world as being a strength of its economy. Hardly surprising then that the country, which is home to 1.15 billion people, is an increasingly attractive destination for companies in the financial and related professional services industries. This is particularly true for the accountancy sector and a number of the UK's larger international banks.

We are working with our partnership networks in India and at home to create new opportunities for our members by:

• delivering high-impact promotional messages about the unique strengths of the UK offer to key decision makers

• encouraging two-way communication between UK and Indian businesses

• promoting liberalisation within the Indian financial and related professional services markets

• helping India develop a business-friendly environment consistent with international best practice

• ensuring business input to senior official visits and bilateral meetings.

Our India Working Group is one of our most dynamic and well supported country groups. It has been running under TheCityUK banner, and before that under the IFSL flag, for more than 20 years. In that time it has attracted some of the best informed people on the future opportunities for financial services in India, hosting valuable discussion, visits and sharing information that has given real business advantage to its members.

Members of the Group include businesses that have achieved enduring growth in India, and the cross-sector nature of those members makes the group a unique forum for every aspect of setting up, and running a thriving financial services business in India. That experience covers the retail, corporate and institutional offers, and importantly includes experts on government relations – so key to navigating business in India.

We are fortunate to have UK Trade & Investment as partners on the Group, and the regular briefings from the Government departments and key players from the British High Commission in India ensure the Group is on the leading edge of the vital information for keeping ahead of the curve in this fast changing market. That access also allows us to feed back to Government on the areas of obstructive bureaucracy and legislation when we encounter them.

The City of London’s Lord Mayor too has a visits programme that regularly includes India. The Lord Mayor is our President, and provides privileged access for the members of the Group. More widely, the Group benefits from a vibrant events programme, creating a platform for its members to meet and share knowledge, as well as the regular formal meetings of the Group itself. In an environment where your network opens doors that might otherwise seem shut tight these events are more than opportunities to hear from the experts. They are the way to forge partnerships and relationships that are the corner stone of establishing routes to market.

There is no doubt that India is becoming an easier market to do business in, especially when armed with good advice and up-to-date market and regulatory knowledge. It is the purpose of the Group to ensure its members can seize those opportunities and create lasting business success in this key market.

Get involved

To get involved in our India Working Group, or find out more about our promotional activity in India, contact info@thecityuk.com.

India-focused events

A detailed list of our India-focused events is available here.

India economic report

We produce monthly economic updates on India in association with Oxford Economics. Follow this link to download the latest report.