Hawk contract,cultural deal on anvil during UK PM's India trip

H S Rao
London, Jul 25 (PTI) A 500 million-pound deal for BAE
systems, Britain's biggest defence contractor, to supply Hawk
jet trainers is expected to be among a string of high-profile
contracts to be signed during Prime Minister David Cameron's
two-day visit to India commencing on Wednesday.
There is also likely to be a major cultural agreement
involving museums, 'The Observer' reported Sunday.
Cameron is taking with him seven Cabinet ministers and a
huge trade delegation, including representatives from BAE as
well as from Rolls-Royce, Standard Chartered Bank,
construction group Balfour Beatty and the British Museum.
BAE has set up joint ventures with the state-owned
Hindustan Aeronautics in Bangalore. The Indian group makes
BAE's Hawk trainer aircraft under licence.
Dick Olver, BAE's Chairman, said British business needed
to think about India becoming as important a trading partner
as America. "We need to build a second special relationship."
According to the Sunday Telegraph, BAE Systems will
announce a 500 million-pound deal to build 57 Hawk trainer
jets in collaboration with their Indian partners HAL near
Bangalore city in south India, as a centrepiece of Cameron's
visit.
Cameron, who will first fly to Bangalore, the hub of
"infotech" and innovation, will visit along with Business
Secretary Vince Cable and Climate Change Minister Greg Barker
the headquarters of Infosys, the cutting edge IT firm based in
the city.
Cameron is expected to make a keynote speech there
calling for an "aspirational partnership" between Britain and
India.
George Osborne, the Chancellor of Exchequer, will visit
Mumbai, the financial capital of India, while David Willetts,
the Universities and Science Minister, will travel to Chennai
to promote university tie-ups.
Meanwhile, Jeremy Hunt, the Culture and Sport Secretary,
will go to Delhi, which is hosting the Commonwealth Games in
October.
In Mumbai, Osborne will ring the bell to open the day's
trading to the headquarters of top computer software
companies.
On Thursday, Cameron will be accorded a ceremonial
reception in the forecourt of the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
Besides holding talks with his Indian counterpart Manmohan
Singh, Cameron is scheduled to meet Congress leader Rahul
Gandhi.
Discussions about the growing threat of LeT, the
Pakistan-based terrorist group behind the Mumbai attacks in
2008, will be on the agenda of meetings between British
Foreign Secretary William Hague and India's security chiefs.

Cameron and Singh will announce a new forum of top
British and Indian chief executives to explore how to
dismantle regulatory barriers to trade and make
recommendations to their governments.
"It will make a significant impact," Indian Commerce
Minister Anand Sharma told the Sunday Telegraph.
"When the captains of Industry meet in an
institutionalised forum, with the composition decided at the
highest level, it's surely a major step forward. We have seen
it can make a difference with the United States, Russia and
France," he said.
Sharma said his government is equally concerned about
Cameron's plans to restrict student and other visas for non-EU
nationals.
"(These) immigration policies would affect adversely the
professionals, Indian doctors, engineers and nurses who have
made a notable contribution to the UK economy," he said.
The new rules could also hamper Indian IT professionals
and other executives, many of whom use London as a hub for
doing business in Europe.
"It could have an adverse impact, that's why I've raised
it. I've asked the British Prime Minister and Foreign
Secretary to intervene so it won't hurt the growing economic
engagement," Sharma said.
The British manufacturers accompanying Cameron are not
just looking for export orders. In many sectors, companies are
linking up with local firms in long-term joint ventures that
would have been unthinkable a generation ago.
The British Prime Minister wants to secure a special
relationship with the emerging superpower.
In a letter to the delegation, he argued that the visit
is about "laying the foundations of an enhanced relationship"
between the two countries for decades to come.
"For our part, government ministers on this trip will be
stressing the importance of trade and demonstrating to our
Indian counterparts how Britain is open for business again.
But you have a crucial role too.
"In the meetings you have, the delegations you meet,
places you visit, you can showcase the ingenuity and
creativity our country has to offer. Of course, this task is
not for business alone. That's why I am so pleased that
representatives from the worlds of sports, culture and
academia will also be joining us."
Barry Gardiner, the Labour MP who chairs the all-party
UK-India trade and investment group, said India was embarking
on a huge infrastructure programme.
That could mean opportunities for British industry, "but
we have to be careful that we don't end up seeing what has
happened in America, where companies have been bought out by
Chinese sovereign wealth funds." PTI HSR
MRD