London [UK], July 9 (ANI): India’s High Commissioner to the UK, Vikram Doraiswami, emphasised the country’s growing focus on enhancing its external environment to support development objectives.
Speaking at the India Maritime Investment Meet in London, Doraiswami highlighted India’s efforts to improve its logistics infrastructure and create a favorable business environment.
“We are going to be all in for creating new infrastructure that makes the efficient movement of goods from ports and within the country a priority.”
Doraiswami highlighted the government’s efforts to improve the ease of doing business in India. He stated, “In the last eight years, the government has stepped up its efforts considerably to improve the ease of doing business, in particular through focus on improved logistics.”
Further, he emphasised that improving logistics in India requires more than just investment. He noted, “Logistics cannot be improved merely by the addition of capital in India; it also requires a policy framework in which the state governments and municipalities are brought on board to facilitate through simplified rules for doing business.”
The High Commissioner also underscored India’s recognition of the importance of the external environment for its development objectives.
He said, “India has historically recognised the importance of the external environment for its development objectives. But in the last decade or so, we have actually started translating that into effective measures to support the externalisation of development opportunities for India, both in the Foreign Policy domain and the Foreign Economic Policy domain.”
Notably, the UK and India finalised a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on May 6, 2025, after three years of negotiations.
The recently finalised FTA agreement between India and the United Kingdom (UK) will not only boost Indian exports and increase the mobility of Indian workers in the UK but also support India’s economy through higher remittances and domestic spending, noted a report by S&P Global Market Intelligence.
In 2024, Indian workers abroad sent home around USD 130 billion, making up 3.3 per cent of the country’s GDP.
The FTA also promises to double trade in goods and services between India and the UK by 2030, up from USD 56.7 billion in 2024.
Indian exports, especially textiles and apparel–which face challenges in the US market–are expected to benefit from improved access to the UK market. (ANI)
