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The High Commission of India in London has created a
flagship programme – the Access India Programme (AIP) in the
UK
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First of its kind for supporting UK businesses access
the Make in India initiative of the Government of
India
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This is the first cohort selected from thousands
of applicants, with other cohorts to follow
The High Commission of India in London has created a flagship
programme – the Access India Programme (AIP) in the UK. This
newly launched market entry support programme is the first of its
kind for supporting UK businesses access the Make in India
initiative of the Government of India. The programme will solely
focus on providing support to small and medium UK enterprises.
The First Cohort of 24 UK SMEs to be taken on board
AIP was announced during the recent visit of PM
Modi and his senior delegation to the UK. A meeting of these
companies with Mr Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary DIPP and
Invest India CEO, Mr Deepak Bagla was organised last month. Some
of the larger UK companies including Perkins, BAE Systems, JCB,
Rolls Royce, Renishaw and TWI, who are involved as mentors for
AIP, were also present at the meeting. This is the first
cohort selected from thousands of applicants, with other
cohorts to follow.
One of the selected UK businesses joining the first cohort,
Global Processing Services (GPS), Deputy CEO, Joanne Dewar
comments, “It is a great honour to have been selected to be part
of the first cohort for the Access India Programme. This
initiative will truly help UK businesses understand and navigate
the complex dynamics of the market in India and help lower
perceived barriers to entry. I’m sure we’ll see many
collaborations and opportunities emerge from this programme
between UK and local businesses. We are already benefitting from
the support and guidance offered.”
The Access India Programme (AIP) in the UK is a newly launched
market entry support programme and the first of its kind for
supporting UK businesses access to ‘Make in India initiative’ of
the Government of India. The programme seeks to identify
high-potential UK SME companies that possess high-end
technologies and innovative products and will assist them in
establishing themselves in India. For these companies, the
programme will provide a detailed programme of activity,
mentoring, networking opportunities and market entry support
services. These services could be in areas including strategy
advisory, operational market entry support, tax & legal
support, financial services, project financing, M&A, location
services, technology collaboration, facilitation of approvals
from central and state agencies will be provided.
The AIP Steering Committee is headed by H. E. Mr Y. K.
Sinha, comprising of representatives of partner ministries and
institutions who will be in charge of monitoring the programme
and reviewing the progress on a quarterly basis.
The AIP project team includes:
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· Ambassador
Dinesh K. Patnaik, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of
India, London and Head of AIP Project Team
- · Mr
Saikat Sen Sharma, Councellor (Economic & Commercial), High
Commission of India, London
- · Mr
Rahul Nangare, First Secretary (Trade), High Commission of India,
London
- · Ms
Kiran Khatri, Second Secretary, High Commission of India, London
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· Supported
by AIP Knowledge Partner, UK India Business Council (UKIBC),
responsible for the day-to-day management of the AIP Programme.
- · Mr
Richard Heald OBE, Group CEO, UK India Business Council
- · Mr
Prasenjit Dhar, AIP Programme Manager & Sector Manager
(Advanced Engineering & Energy), UK India Business Council
