India and Britain forge new alliances to enhance cooperation across different sectors.
Apollo Hospitals in UK institute tie-up
India's Apollo Hospitals Group announced its collaboration with the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR), UK to help address the shortage of skilled radiologists in the NHS and the Indian health system.
Through the partnership, Apollo Radiology International (ARI), a specialty division of the group, will provide opportunities to Indian radiologists to work for fixed terms in the UK. These jobs will help in providing experience and exposure to contemporary clinical developments in the field of radiology. The partnership envisages to help address the shortage of skilled radiologists in the UK NHS system.
As part of the collaboration, eligible Indian radiologists will work and train in the NHS partner hospitals for a three-year period. The jobs will involve providing a general radiology service to the UK hospital and at the same time getting subspecialty training in their area of interest.
At the end of the three-year period the Radiologists will come back to India and exercise their enhanced skills for the benefit of Indian patients and improve the quality and delivery of health services.
TechUK inks MoU with Kolkata's ICC
TechUK, which represents the tech sector in the UK, has signed its first memorandum of understanding (MoU) in India with the Kolkata-based business body Indian Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The MoU states they will promote and foster business relations and technology collaborations between members of TechUK and technology companies across East and North-East India, with a special focus on Kolkata.
The move comes after a delegation of technology companies from Kolkata and representatives from the ICC and the West Bengal government visited London and had discussions with TechUK.
Julian David, CEO, TechUK, said: “TechUK already works very closely with Nasscom across India but the MoU aims to create more events, collaborations and activities. The association hopes to sign more MoUs with different regional bodies in the future.”
The intention of the MoU is to facilitate collaborations in emerging areas of technology, trade links and for there to be regular visits from tech companies in the Kolkata region to the UK and vice versa and for TechUK and the ICC to each act as a gateway to access market opportunities.
TechUK represents more than 950 tech companies in the UK employing half of all tech jobs in London, ranging from FTSE 100 firms to start-ups.
City of London in fintech partnership with India
The City of London announced that it has become a formal programme partner for the Access India Programme (AIP) with financial technology at the heart of the tie-up.
Access India Programme was launched by the High Commission of India in London last year with the aim of facilitating investments by UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) into India.
The formal partnership with the City of London Corporation, which has already been working with AIP informally, will revolve around hosting delegations, providing practical support and advocacy and regulatory inputs.
Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chairman at the City of London Corporation, said: "The UK is a world leader in fintech and by some estimates home to around 1,600 fintech companies. With cash accounting for most transactions in India, and around one-fifth of the population still unbanked, I look forward to seeing how UK expertise can help accelerate the digital revolution.”
Indian high commissioner to the UK, Y.K. Sinha, said, "The sharing of domain knowledge and expertise in financial services and fintech will greatly benefit the programme as well as facilitate UK companies in these sectors to invest in India.”
The corporation′s Global Exports and Investment Team, which has an India-focused Account Manager with links to a variety of key stakeholders, will also support the expansion of UK companies to India.
