Tasting the new Indian curry

By Madhu Sivaraman

The author is a Chevening Scholar for public policy at the University of Edinburgh.

With the 70th year of India gaining independence from its colonial powers, the British have kickstarted a slew of programmes and discussions in the United Kingdom. Given the significant contribution of Indians to the British economy, it is quite natural to have this been celebrated in length. However, both the countries are still stuck on its path and will need significant boardroom talks to clear the roadblocks.

Shaky world relations

At the University of Edinburgh, marking the India Day on October 2nd, Shashi Tharoor, MP was again eloquently seeking an apology from the British government for all the undoing done on the ‘jewel’ by its imperial rule. While reparations would never happen, he constantly underlined to rewrite the narratives about India in British textbooks. The fact that there is no mention about the colonial legacies of the British Empire in India demurs any healthy discussion on India-UK relationship.

While Britishers, including Duchess Kate Middleton, still relish the aromas of Indian curries, they don’t necessarily ‘curry favour with’ mentioning its past colonial legacy. What should be understood is that this, amongst others, would be those India would be mutely demanding from the United Kingdom post-Brexit.

The UK is quickly realising its vulnerability in the current world order with the United States and China competing against each other and taking in ‘pivotal partners’ and ‘all-weather friends’. The visit of PM Theresa May to India last year underlined UK’s impatience in gaining some foothold which it is slowly losing in Europe. This goes without mentioning UK’s strength in its financial services and education which has been its piece of the bargain with India and other countries in the subcontinent.

Amending India-UK bond

The UK will have a good partner in India if it can engage India on an equal footing by easing its strings rather than its purse. The Immigration policy, without doubt, is the topmost concern where the camaraderie stops. A renegotiation of this is inevitable for better engagement and this shall be reciprocated by India easing its tariffs on British imports. Better trade relation will already cement the good cultural bonding UK and India have on various fronts. This needs to go beyond the defence engagements which India has with countries like Russia and of recent, Israel. A broader engagement, especially in education, technology and health taking into consideration India’s future growth potential/requirements and British expertise/resources, would decide the future of this relationship.

Finding new flavours

There are few focus areas which both India and the UK will need to synchronise to gain traction. India has already shown its intention to open its doors for investment. While recent efforts on Ease of Doing Business had noble intentions, it underlined the need for a structured and systematic planning of deconstructing the system. The UK, which currently is positioned 7th in the World Bank Doing Business Rankings, has numerous best practices to propose thanks to its successful restatement of regulatory practices cutting down red tape. Given the similarity in the bureaucratic system of the countries, regulatory practices successfully implemented in the UK could be tried and tested in India. Breaking regulatory barriers will assist in better confidence on investors and ensure predictability and lowering of risks.

The number Indian students studying in the UK has been touching the lowest levels for many years thanks to the restrictive Tier 2 work permits in the UK. While it will be difficult to emulate the earlier levels of openness in this regard on the part of UK, knowledge sharing and exchanges between universities, companies and even government departments need to be strengthened. China has really turned the tables by utilising its aspirational youth to get exposed to the best educational systems abroad. The UK accommodated 58,825 Chinese students compared to 10,125 Indian students in 2017 (a drop of 10 percent) with Australia and Canada already taking the major pie.

Working towards a dream

Oxbridge campuses in India may not be a distant dream, but it would need more competence building measures in the Indian academic circles. India will need to vigorously rework on its higher education sector which is unable to meet the aspirations of quality students left to study at sub-optimal institutions. Similarly, Faculty Improvement Programmes (FAP) with UK institutions could address some of the inadequacies of Indian education system. However, the ball is in the court of UK institutions who will need to stitch the Indian dhoti and would eventually gain more earnings and learnings from India.

Emerging sectors like Energy and Infrastructure and especially Smart cities development hold bright future for UK engagement. The fact that Central Minister Nitin Gadkari mentioned the switch to electric vehicles by 2030 aligns to similar commitments of the UK (Scotland has planned to ban petrol vehicles). Solar has been one of the biggest areas open to foreign investment into India, where the US and other European countries already have the first mover advantage. Smart cities, on the other hand, has been a fantastic idea on paper which would push Indian cities to global levels and accommodate the burgeoning urban population. However, this has been the weakest point for India in a stage where China has marched way ahead. India could still take a cue from the British on developing infrastructure and need not be ashamed of extending and investing in the rail and road infrastructure laid by the British.

Finally, cultural engagement has been the key mover for India in all its foreign policy. Consuls have largely been ambassadors of culture and will require further engagement with local British population who are largely ignorant of India’s prowess. Manchester United, Chelsea or Arsenal teams could play exhibition matches or the likes of NFL in London. Moving beyond the Diwali and Holi wishes, it will boost significant fan support in the already expanding English Premier League (EPL) football viewers in India.

Serving the best curry

These ‘soft’ engagements will have higher impacts in taking forward a fruitful engagement between the two countries. UK-India engagement is the best possible case in an increasingly shrinking national space. While the British have slowly realised India’s prowess, India needs to realign itself in engaging its erstwhile master in a proactive manner. This goes without saying that its efforts in improving governance, tax consistency and formalising the economy need to continue. While diversity is indeed good, predictability should be ensured in its relations. India should develop its vision plan for UK Engagement through consultations with business, trade bodies, labour unions, cultural groups, think tanks etc.

Of course, the recipe to the success of the Indian curry will lie on how far it can implement its commitments in its engagement with the UK. In the current global order, there is no room for mistakes and it will need to serve its best dish.

Featured Image Source:  David Holt London via VisualHunt / CC BY