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Innovation Minister builds India ties

The British minister for Business, Innovation and Skills will visit India to strengthen the UK’s lucrative relationship with the South Asian country.

Pat McFadden, who will be India from 13 to 17 February 2010, is intending to build stronger ties with the country after earlier collaborations resulted in £25million’s worth of developments in a number of industries.

Earlier partnerships with India have led to the development of next generation IT networks, new drug discoveries, and bioenergy and agricultural biotechnology initiatives.

During this visit McFadden will be addressing the second bilateral India-UK Science and Innovation Council (SIC) meeting along with the India’s Science and Technology minister Prithviraj Chavan in New Delhi. “Both the UK and India have recognised how knowledge is the key raw material in the 21st century, and that this can be transformed into new solutions, new innovationsand new growth,” McFadden said. “Since the first Science and Innovation Council four years ago, our bilateral collaborations have gone from strength to strength, bringing real benefits to our people.” 

The innovation minister will be accompanied on his India tour by the government’s chief scientific adviser Prof John Beddington. While visiting New Delhi, Chandigarh and Ropar, the duo will both be discussing new multi-million pound research partnerships as well as making attempts to improve provision for education. 

McFadden added: “The UK and India are natural partners of choice to move forward in these fast-moving and increasingly internationalised fields of science and innovation. My visit to India intends to build an even stronger relationship for the future as we tackle the local and global challenges ahead.”

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