15th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Prime Minister’s visit to India in February set a number of firsts: the first by a British PM to Mumbai for 20 years, the first by a PM to Amritsar, and the first to India (or anywhere) to be joined by over 120 businesspeople. The size of the business group set us in Mumbai […]
Read more on Gas fields, gels and gin – mixing it with the PM’s visit | Reply
21st February 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Visits by the Prime Minister don’t come round too often to most FCO Posts, unless you happen to be in Brussels or Washington. Although I have met some “ex-PMs” in recent postings in Manila and Sydney, it’s more years than I care to remember when I was last involved in a visit by a current […]
Read more on Mumbai: The PM has landed | Reply
23rd January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The State of Gujarat, an hour’s flight north of Mumbai, can claim many important contributions to India. It was the birthplace of Mahatma Gandhi, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, another key leader of the independence movement and India’s first Home Minister, and Jamsetji Tata, the founder of the massive eponymous conglomerate, hails from Navsari in Gujarat. Gujarat […]
Read more on Vibrant Gujarat – attracting business from India and beyond | Reply
7th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Many people in London, and other parts of the UK, think they know a good deal about the Mayor of the capital, Boris Johnson: judging from the number of British tourists who greeted him in hotels or on the streets of Mumbai he must also be one of our most widely recognised politicians. Less well […]
Read more on The return of Boris to Bollyland: 48 hours of business | Reply (1)
15th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
No-one in India exemplifies ‘The Power of We’ more than Mahatma Gandhi, even over 60 years after his death. He sought to improve the conditions of the poorest and to lead one of the world’s first non-violent mass movements, first in South Africa and then in India. Hundreds of books have been written about his influence on […]
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30th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Why buying a second-hand jag puts you in good, competitive company… In the business pages of this Sunday’s Washington Post, Michael Lennox asked whether an aspiring global competitor from a developing economy could use the acquisition of an established Western business to grow its earnings and diversify. Michael’s case in point was Tata’s acquisition in 2008 of […]
Read more on GREAT British Cars | Reply
12th August 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
In Mumbai, a city of about 18 million heaving with offices, accommodation and traffic, you don’t expect to find a sanctuary of calm less than 15 minutes from the international airport. But on a recent visit to call on the Global Chief Executive of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Mr Chandrasekharan (Chandra), that is precisely what […]
Read more on An IT conglomerate sharing space with bats and butterflies | Reply
4th February 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We welcomed to Mumbai in January the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Dr Vince Cable. He came with an extensive professional and personal knowledge of India, and indeed affection for the country. He was happily married for thirty five years, until her death, to a lady whose parents were from Goa, and […]
Read more on A cabinet minister for whom India is his second home | Reply
21st December 2010
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I am proud and a little relieved that my wife completed her trek in the footsteps of Gandhi. I am proud and a little relieved to write after my last blog that my wife completed her 350 kilometre trek in the footsteps of Gandhi’s famous Salt March of 1930 at the beginning of December. The […]
Read more on A 350 km walk through the Indian countryside, £100,000 raised for charities – and memories for life | Reply
