27th November 2014
New Delhi, India
Historically, India has always been a major exporter of international students, but these days the country is also becoming an attractive destination for overseas study. As one of the five swiftly developing BRICS countries (along with Brazil, Russia and China) India has begun to emerge as an advanced centre for modern commerce, research and innovation. […]
Read more on Giving wings to talent: Opportunities for doctoral students in the UK to visit India | Reply
23rd November 2014
Chennai, India
I’ve spent most of my career working on Africa and its issues. It’s a beautiful, resilient, inspiring continent. The people are simply extraordinary. But I’ve also seen first-hand the prevalence of violence against women there. That’s true in conflict – in Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo and most recently as Ambassador to the Central […]
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19th November 2014
Mumbai, India
In February this year, my colleague, Manjari, and I began deliberations to organise a 5-day UK-India programme on wave and tidal energy. Fast forward to 27-31 October 2014, those deliberations actually transpired! A delegation of six UK experts representing the member universities of the UK Centre for Marine Energy Research (UKCMER) as well as Scottish Association […]
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29th October 2014
Mumbai, India
From experience I can say that it is relatively easy to put together a workshop or an event, but the real challenge actually lies in following up on doing what we said we’d do; capturing the essence of what comes out of the discussions and then maintaining the relationships with stakeholders and partners with whom […]
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27th October 2014
Mumbai, India
Last week (October 13-14), the UK Science and Innovation team partnered with UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team to organise a UK-India programme on hybrid and electric vehicles in Pune, Maharashtra. This workshop was part of a series of events graced by Rt Hon Dr Vince Cable, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, who was visiting […]
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27th September 2014
Chennai, India
Last month I turned 45. I’m not telling you this so you can congratulate or commiserate with me, although my beloved wife did – very sweetly – remind me that I’m now numerically closer to 50 than 40 (thanks darling). But I do find that birthdays are increasingly occasions for reflection. This year, I was […]
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22nd September 2014
Mumbai, India
The grand finale of the series of UK-India manufacturing events held this year unfolded in Bengaluru from 10-12 September. I worked with my colleagues Gagan, Leena, Tom, Bincy, Priyanka, and Venkatesh to deliver this 3-day programme, which was jointly organised by the UK Science & Innovation Network and UK Trade and Investment. A 9-member UK delegation […]
Read more on UK-India dialogue on advanced manufacturing in Bengaluru | Reply
14th August 2014
Mumbai, India
As a follow up to the UK-India manufacturing round table held in New Delhi in April this year, I’m collaborating with my UKTI colleague, Venkatesh, to organise a one-day UK-India workshop on advanced manufacturing in Bengaluru on September 12, 2014. If you’re interested in finding about the outcomes of the round table meeting, you might […]
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4th August 2014
Islamabad, Pakistan
This is my first blog for the High Commission and a quick look at the archives tells me that it’s the first time in a long time that a member of the Defence Team has rolled up his sleeves and ‘put fingers to keyboard’. So when Alison Blake, our Deputy High Commissioner, asked me to […]
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17th July 2014
New Delhi, India
The recently announced federal budget by the newly elected Government of India has unveiled a slew of initiatives to boost growth of India’s scientific capabilities. The focus is particularly on improvement of agricultural productivity, biotech clusters, capacity creation in health and education, clean energy initiatives and development of water resources and river conservation. Most of […]
Read more on India Budget – new plans in R&D infrastructure and a lot more | Reply