UK PM Keir Starmer wraps India visit with AI, fintech investments into India
London (PTI): British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that he secured thousands of new jobs during his visit to India, with a range of UK companies confirming 3.6 billion pounds worth of investments across AI and fintech sectors.
Starmer, who concluded his Mumbai visit on Thursday after wide-ranging talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said the visit had helped the UK seize the opportunities created by the Comprehensive Trade and Economic Agreement (CETA) signed in July.
He promised to open more doors for British businesses in India, following the "ambitious" Free Trade Agreement, which will lower tariffs and mean trade is “quicker, cheaper and easier”.
“Alongside a 125-strong business delegation, we have seized the opportunities created by our trade deal with India in full this week,” said Starmer, in a statement at the conclusion of his India visit.
“We’ve secured new investments into the UK, and created 10,600 jobs across the entire country, in some of our most thriving industries. And we’ve flown the flag for British business in India – opening doors and galvanising our partnerships. Our outward-looking and proud approach is delivering real change, which people will see in their communities up and down the country,” he said.
Some of the key investments by British companies highlighted by 10 Downing Street include Graphcore, part of the SoftBank Group, which will invest up to 1 billion pounds in a new AI engineering campus in Bengaluru, creating 500 high-skilled jobs in India’s semiconductor industry.
While UK fintech Tide will invest 500 million pounds in India over five years from 2026 – expanding its India workforce to 2,300 by adding 800 professionals in the next 12 months, Revolut is looking to spend 500 million pounds in its India business in the next five years.
Meanwhile, Paysecure, a UK-based payments orchestration company, aims to boost UK exports by 370 million pounds in five years by enabling "seamless payments" for UK businesses in India through integration with top Indian banks and payment gateways.
"Wrapping up a two-day trade mission to Mumbai, the Prime Minister has praised the strengthened, future-facing UK-India partnership, which will deliver for Britain by boosting growth, creating jobs and making hard-working people better off,” Downing Street said.
"A range of UK companies have confirmed 3.6 billion pounds worth of investments that will see them grow and expand into India’s super-economy – which will support thousands of British jobs and deliver growth at home,” it stated.
This followed an earlier announcement of 64 Indian investment projects worth 1.3 billion pounds expected to generate 6,900 new jobs across diverse sectors in the UK.
While a new 350 million pounds deal to deliver UK-manufactured missiles to the Indian Army is expected to create a further 700 jobs in Northern Ireland, Yash Raj Films’ commitment to make three new Bollywood films in the UK from next year is estimated to bring over 3,000 new jobs to the country from early next year.
Both leaders looked forward to the ratification of the India–UK CETA as early as possible to realise its benefits, reads the joint statement issued after Starmer-Modi talks in Mumbai.
The Prime Ministers also welcomed the re-setting of the Joint Economic and Trade Committee (JETCO), which will support the governance and utilisation of the CETA and drive forward our wider trade and investment partnership, it adds.
CETA, which targets a doubling of annual bilateral trade from an estimated 44.1 billion pounds by 2030, is undergoing a UK parliamentary ratification process that is expected to be completed by early next year.
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SC takes cognisance of NCERT class 8 chapter on corruption in judiciary
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday took suo motu cognisance of the contents of the class 8 NCERT textbook referring to corruption in the judiciary and termed it a matter of "grave concern."
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi was urged by senior advocate Kapil Sibal that "children of class 8 are taught about corruption in the judiciary. This is a matter of grave concern."
The CJI said, "I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
He added, "As head of the institution, I have done my duty and have taken cognisance … This seems to be a calculated move. I won't say much."
Justice Bagchi said the book seemed to be against the basic structure of the Constitution.
The CJI said, "Please wait for a few days. Bar and Bench all are perturbed. All high court judges are perturbed. I will take up the matter suo motu. I will not allow anybody to defame the institution. Law will take its course."
Later, Justice Kant said that the top court has taken suo motu cognisance of the matter.
Corruption, massive backlog of cases, and lack of an adequate number of judges are among the "challenges" faced by the judicial system, according to the new social science NCERT textbook for class 8.
The section "corruption in the judiciary" in the new book states that judges are bound by a code of conduct that governs not only their behaviour in court, but also how they conduct themselves outside it.
