TheCityUK provides the UK secretariat of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) at the request of HM Treasury. The purpose of the IUKFP is to increase collaboration between the financial sectors of India and the UK.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Indian Finance Minister launched the IUKFP at the UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) in July 2014 with the aims of increasing trade and investment flows, and supporting policy reform. The Partnership works to achieve this by developing policy insights and practical recommendations on a variety of topics that are aligned to the priorities of the Governments of India and the UK. IUKFP activity also forms the financial services pillar of the UK-India CEO Forum.
The IUKFP is led on the UK side by Bill Winters CBE, Group Chief Executive of Standard Chartered, and on the India side by Uday Kotak, Managing Director and CEO of Kotak Mahindra Bank. Members of the partnership include around 30 business leaders, on each side, as well as senior officials from the Ministry of Finance, the Reserve Bank of India and regulators from India, and HM Treasury, the Bank of England and the Financial Conduct Authority from the UK.
Policy discussion papers with key recommendations have been published on the following issues:
- pensions
- India’s insolvency regulations
- infrastructure funding
- development of India's corporate bond market
- development of the reinsurance industry in India
- financial inclusion
- responsible shareholder engagement: an Indian Stewardship Code
- internationalisation of the Indian Rupee
- developing India’s green finance market
- developing GIFT City into a Global Services Hub
- harnessing the power of FinTech and data
Priorities of the IUKFP:
- deepening networks between Indian and UK business and policymakers
- providing industry input into bilateral government engagement
- enhancing cross-border trade and investment
- exploring opportunities for mutual understanding and knowledge sharing.
Recent activities:
- Joined the UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue held in New Delhi in September 2023. As the only private sector participants invited to participate in the EFD, IUKFP members presented recommendations to Ministers on deepening equity capital markets connectivity between the two countries, reviewed the group’s ongoing work on fintech and data, and assessed the status of policy recommendations made since the group’s establishment. The IUKFP received a mandate from the two governments to develop further workshops on data, as well as explore future workstreams on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
- Participated in the second UK-India Financial Markets Dialogue, held in London in April 2023. Business leaders from the IUKFP met with the respective finance ministries and regulatory bodies to launch the IUKFP’s latest report, Harnessing the power of FinTech and data, discuss emerging recommendations under the capital markets workstream and share ideas on future priorities for both industry and government.
- Organised a workshop in partnership with the UK-India Business Council, the British High Commission in India, HM Treasury and the City of London Corporation to discuss commercial opportunities for sustainable infrastructure in India. Around 100 UK investors were offered insights and guidance on how to best access government support as well as introductions to potential co-investment partners.
- Delivery of business engagement elements at the first UK-India Financial Markets Dialogue in July 2021 and at the UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue in September 2021, including an IUKFP meeting with the Rt. Hon. Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs for India.
- Released a new report focused on the development of Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City) into a global services hub at the 11th EFD. Recommendations in the paper were taken up in the Union Budget of India, released in February 2022.
- Launch of workstreams comprising UK and Indian practitioners to develop policy recommendations and workshops on cross-border trade and investment (India-UK Financial Services Corridor) and capital markets connectivity.
- Ongoing engagement with the government-to-government working group co-chaired by HM Treasury and the Indian Ministry of Finance on how to strengthen UK-India FinTech collaboration.
- Presentation of business priorities to both governments on the UK-India Free Trade Agreement negotiations.
Our India work programme is closely aligned to our Liberalisation of Trade in Services (LOTIS) Committee. Through it we guide the industry’s objectives for trade and investment policy, including priorities for the UK’s bilateral trade and investment relationship with India.
For more information about our India work programme please contact us.