Press Release
January 15, 2004
UK Trade Secretary Patricia Hewitt
On The Relationship With India: Job & Wealth Creation Is A Two Way
Street
At a meeting organised by Labour
Friends of India on 15th March 2004 at the House of Commons, British Parliamentarians
met with business leaders and trade union figures to discuss the future
of the relationship between India and the UK.
Along with significant interaction
with the assembled audience Labour Friends of India launched a 'Progressive
Business Group' to ensure Indian and British companies can meet regularly
with policy makers to discuss issues of significance between the two nations
and help identify ways in which the bilateral trade & investment relationship
can grow
In a written statement, Patricia
Hewitt said "I want to praise the work of Labour Friends of India in bringing
people together to discuss the relationship between India and UK. With
established cultural and historical connections the links between the two
countries have always been a strong one. However, we sometimes fail to
recognise the importance of the economic relationship - India was the second
largest source of investment into the UK from Asia in 2002-03 in terms
of projects and out of the total Indian investment flow into Europe, over
60% comes to the UK."
Explaining that job and wealth creation
is a two way street, Ms Hewitt added "the relationship is going from strength
to strength. Increasingly, major British companies consider it critical
to have a presence in a growing Indian market and equally, Indian companies
are finding the intellectual capital offered in the UK indispensable in
developing their global presence."
With the recent attention surrounding
off-shoring, Patricia Hewitt reiterated her stand against adopting protectionist
measures. She acknowledged the concerns of her Parliamentary colleagues
on the implications of the outsourcing of service sector work as being
entirely valid but reiterated that protectionism was not the right approach
in dealing with this important issue.
"One more job in India does not
mean one less job here. It means instead one less Indian family in poverty,
one more customer for our goods. Not jobs lost, but opportunities found."
In his introductory remarks, Barry
Gardiner MP, Secretary of Labour Friends of India, who presided over the
meeting said "It has been reported that when Jack Straw and Yashwant Sinha
met last month in Delhi, they agreed that a new impetus was required to
take the bilateral relationship on a higher plane. The two Foreign Secretaries
agreed that collaboration in high technology and trade and investment would
provide this much needed emphasis. Business is at the heart of the Indo-UK
relationship and I am pleased to welcome all of you to speak to us about
that relationship today."
Vikas Pota, Director of Labour Friends
of India, said "Certain vested interests often speak about the growing
relationship with India as one in which India has an unfair advantage.
Furthermore, these groups often twist what others say or suppress inconvenient
facts which inevitably result in hype & frenzy where panic prevails
over logic. These groups must realise that it is an equal relationship
and that job & wealth creation is a two way street."
On globalisation, "We must work
together on facts, not on fear and prejudices. Off-shoring is the inevitable
consequence of the logic of globalisation and we cannot agree with the
philosophy and disagree with its consequences as and when it suits us."
He concluded, "We congratulate the
DTI for the stand they have taken on this issue, look forward to the White
Paper on globalisation to be published this summer by the DTI, and welcome
the formation of the 'Progressive Business Group' which will help to move
the off-shoring debate into calmer waters where we can all work together
to address a serious issue and will enable us to focus on the bilateral
relationship in its entirety."
Sonjoy Chatterjee, CEO of ICICI
Bank (UK) - India's largest private bank, focussing on the opportunities
available in India, said "We at ICICI Bank have long held the view that
the twin themes of robust services sector growth and corporate resurgence
provide the basis for sustainable, high growth in the Indian economy. We
are glad that this view is now being vindicated."
According to Dr Gerard Lyons, Chief
Economist of Standard Chartered Plc "India is booming and it will continue
to boom. The importance of India and South Asia should not be underestimated.
A dynamic regional trading bloc can develop in South Asia, driven by strong
growth within India and peaceful relations with its neighbours". He explained
that there are global implications from India's growth and outlined what
it means for us in the United Kingdom in a talk titled 'India's boom and
its regional and global implications."
As a company that has invested greatly
in India, BG Plc's Managing Director, Dave Roberts communicated the strategic
reasons 'Why India Matters' for his company. He explained "India is a strategic
hub of BG Group's Asia and Middle East region and critical to our success.
India has the attributes which are key to the success of any commercial
enterprise - multiple business opportunities and the infrastructure and
regulatory framework which allows for the transition of opportunity into
tangible assets. What works in India to progress and develop these opportunities
are a stable operating environment, a sound fiscal and legal regime and
strong economic conditions."
Dinesh Dhamija, Chairman & CEO
of EBookers Plc, a leading online travel company communicated his experience
in India as his company had recently established operations there. In particular
he highlighted the areas that other British businesses should take note
of when considering India as a destination and also when they physically
locate in India. He said "We made our decision to go to India, probably
not in the same way as a company the size of HSBC or BT would. We were
at a fragile stage of development, in a low margin market. We went to India,
because if we hadn't we would have gone under and lost 560 jobs. Today
ebookers is a diverse and vibrant organisation with ambitious plans for
the future. I am proud to represent it. Our success in the future will
include both India and Europe, not India or Europe. And it will benefit
both India and Europe not India or Europe."
Laura Moffatt MP, who recently participated
in a parliamentary visit to India where she visited a call centre, spoke
about her observations "I represent a constituency which has recently attracted
investment from a major financial services company who is setting up a
state of the art call centre employing local people. So when, someone talks
to me about the mass exodus of jobs from the UK to India, I try to remind
them that the call centre industry is in fact growing not detracting in
the UK. My visit to an EXL call centre proved to be the most beneficial
part of my visit as it put to rest certain perceptions I had of the industry
in India. Instead of a sweatshop, I witnessed and interacted with employees
who were graduates, were paid above average wages and saw their jobs as
careers. In return they received benefits such as subsidised housing, free
meals, use of a gym and excellent medical facilities."
Simon Machell, Customer Services
Director of Aviva Plc, spoke on the outsourcing imperative and in particular
emphasised the customer experience as being fundamental to their success.
He said "In an increasingly competitive marketplace, consumers want products
that deliver value for money combined with high levels of service. Off-shoring
brings key benefits in terms of increased capability, greater flexibility
and reduced cost. A lower cost base enables us to provide our customers
with greater value for money, improve the value of our product offering
and invest in new propositions - all good news for our customers."
The meeting was attended by 150
British Business Leaders including the heads of prominent FTSE companies
such as British Gas, Standard Chartered Bank, EBookers, Oracle Corporation,
Cap Gemini E&Y, EDS, Sun Microsystems, Lloyds TSB, Virgin Atlantic,
Rolls Royce, Accenture, Deutsche Bank, PriceWaterHouseCoopers, Ernst &
Young, Numerica, Grant Thornton, RBS and Aviva.
The meeting was sponsored by Saffron
Chase Ltd - a PR, Marketing and Global Events specialist, ICICI Bank -
India's largest private bank and Vitabiotics Ltd - manufacturers of health
supplements and was attended by 200 parliamentarians, business leaders
and friends of India.
