Narayan Murthy's Son-in-law among 15-Indian origin MPs elected in UK Election
London: A record 15 Indian-origin politicians entered the UK's House of Commons on Friday after a historic election won by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Indian-origin candidates across both the ruling Conservative and Opposition Labour parties registered equally strong results of seven wins each in the UK's General Election on Thursday, with around a dozen MPs retaining their seats alongside some new faces, taking their number in the UK's lower house up to 15.
Prime Minister Johnson emphatic victory set the UK on course for an exit from the European Union (EU) next month. The new Parliament voted in also produced the most diverse Parliament ever, with one in 10 MPs now from an ethnic minority background.
All the MPs from the previous Parliament contesting this time were successful in clinching their seats, with Gagan Mohindra and Claire Coutinho for the Conservative Party, Navendru Mishra for Labour and Munira Wilson for the Liberal Democrats among the first-timers.
"The better our Parliament reflects the diversity within the country, the more likely it is that all voices will be represented," said Wilson, who took over from Lib Dem grandee Vince Cable in the south-west London constituency of Twickenham.
"Time to Get Brexit Done and get on with investing in our schools, hospitals and police to keep our streets safe," said Goan-origin Coutinho, in reference to the central Conservative Party message which clearly resonated with the voters in the polls.
She won the Surrey East Tory-held seat polling 35,624 votes, with an impressive majority of 24,040 for the party. Mohindra also won his Hertfordshire South West seat decisively with 30,327 votes and a majority of 14,408.
The other Tories to return to the Commons with comfortable wins include Priti Patel, the former UK homes secretary who is likely to remain in Johnson's top team in the new Cabinet as well.
"This has been a hard-fought election in a very cold time of the year because we needed a functioning Conservative majority, said Patel, who polled 32,876 votes at her Witham constituency in Essex and held on to a majority of 24,082 for the party.
"We are committed to deliver on priorities and getting Brexit done is a priority. The deal is there, we want to move forward, she said.
Her fellow Cabinet colleagues in the previous Johnson-led government also had a good night, with Rishi Sunak the son-in-law of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy clinching 36,693 votes, marking a majority for the Tories of 27,210. Alok Sharma, the former international development minister, polled 24,393 votes to win from Reading West.
Shailesh Vara won his North West Cambridgeshire seat with a solid majority of 25,983, polling 40,307 votes and Goan-origin Suella Braverman clinched Fareham with 36,459 votes, registering a majority of 26,086.
The pro-Brexit MP thanked her constituency team for its unstinting support and hard work.
"Great teamwork in the rain, the cold and the dark! All patriots who want to Get Brexit Done with Boris Johnson," she tweeted soon after the result was declared.
The Opposition Labour Party had a disastrous night overall, losing key seats in its heartlands in the north, but for all the Indian-origin MPs from the last Parliament there was a reason to celebrate.
Navendru Mishra bagged 21,695 votes to clinch the Stockport seat and become a first-time MP for the party.
Preet Kaur Gill, who had made history in the last election as the first British Sikh female MP, was re-elected from Birmingham Edgbaston with 21,217 votes.
Tanmanjeet Singh Dhesi, the first turbaned Sikh MP, will also return to the Commons with an impressive 13,640 majority, having polled 29,421 votes from Slough in south-east England and beating Tory Indian-origin rival Kanwal Toor Gill.
Veteran MP Virendra Sharma, who had been under pressure by forces within his own party, had a comfortable win from Ealing Southall with 25,678 votes. The others holding on to their seats included Lisa Nandy who won Wigan with 21,042 votes and Seema Malhotra clinched Feltham and Heston with 24,876 votes.
Valerie Vaz, the sister of scandal-hit former MP Keith Vaz who had stepped down ahead of the election, held on to her Walsall South seat with 20,872 votes, beating Indian-origin Tory candidate Gurjit Bains.
"Parties faced serious challenges during the campaign over prejudice and racism. The increasing number of ethnic minority MPs can play an important role in ensuring each party does put its house in order and shows that it can appeal to citizens of any ethnic or faith background, said Sunder Katwala, Director of the integration think tank British Future, which hailed the latest figures as a sign of progress.
With one in 10 MPs now from a minority background, the Commons moved a step closer to being representative of the electorate, around 12 per cent of which is from an ethnic minority background.
The far-right Brexit Party, which had fielded a number of Indian-origin candidates, failed to make a dent in the election, which marked the biggest win for the Conservatives since the 1980s.
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Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates Gems and Jewellery Institute campus in Udupi
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated the premises of the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery here, praising the centre for providing professional training and promoting entrepreneurship among youth.
Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said the centre, established in 2016 with support from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and the district administration, has grown steadily despite disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We started in a very small place, unsure of the response. Today, advanced facilities including CAD and 3D printing are available, enabling students to gain industry-relevant skills,” she said.
Sitharaman highlighted the centre’s reach across Karnataka and beyond.
“Students have come from Karwar, Chitradurga, Raichur, and Tamil Nadu. Some had no prior experience but are now running successful jewellery businesses,” she said, citing examples of trainees who returned to their hometowns to start enterprises.
Emphasising affordability, she noted, “Training abroad is expensive, but here the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery offers professional courses at accessible costs, making skill development widely available.”
The minister also underlined the centre’s contribution to India’s jewellery export sector.
“This region, from Ratnagiri to Kerala, has a rich jewellery tradition serving the Indian diaspora. Skilled manpower from such centres strengthens our exports and creates livelihood opportunities,” she said.
Sitharaman commended the collaboration between the government, GJEPC, and local jewellers, noting that around 600 students were trained last year.
She urged greater awareness to attract more youth to the institute, describing it as a model public-private partnership that fosters entrepreneurship and skill development.
The minister also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery and IIT Madras under the InCent LGD platform for a specialised, industry-oriented certification programme in lab-grown diamond technologies.
The office of the minister said in a post on X that the programme will help bridge critical skill gaps, create job-ready professionals, boost value-added manufacturing, and strengthen India’s position in the global LGD (lab-grown diamond) value chain, aligned with Make in India, Skill India, and the goal of a self-reliant, globally competitive LGD ecosystem.
It further said that the Rs 242 crore grant announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 for lab-grown diamond research at IIT Madras is helping build a world-class ecosystem.
Under the InCent initiative, India’s first indigenously designed scaled prototype of a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) LGD machine has been developed and installed at IIT Madras, while imported commercial HPHT machines have also been installed for benchmarking.
Sitharaman also witnessed a demonstration of the ‘Design to Manufacturing’ process by students at IIGJ Udupi and interacted with trainees of the institute and entrepreneurs from the gems and jewellery industry, the minister’s office said in another post.
