New Delhi : The Overseas Indian Facilitation Centre (OIFC), a public private partnership between the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) formed to facilitate the economic engagement of the Indian Diaspora with India, is all set to host the 24th OIFC Diaspora Engagement Meet in London on 16th October 2014. The Meet will be bringing together industry leaders from India and UK to discuss business opportunities for both trade and investments between the two countries.

The Meet will be a prelude to the Regional Pravasi Bharatiya Divas – London, with a focus to create avenues for greater interaction between the Indian industry and Indian Government with the High Networth Individuals (HNIs) from the UK on one hand and NRIs, PIOs and British businessmen on the other.

Led by Mr Prem Narain, Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs & Chairman, OIFC, a strong high level delegation of policymakers and industry leaders is visiting London to acquaint the Indian diaspora with various investment and trade opportunities in India and to enhance the economic engagement of the Indian diaspora in the UK with India.

Speaking about the preparation of the Meet, Mr Prem Narain, Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs & Chairman, OIFC said, “OIFC continues to see Europe, specially the United Kingdom as a very important geography – both from point of view of concentration of overseas Indians and for Indo – UK economic relations.”

Over 150 delegates from the UK are expected to participate in the Meet, which will include high net-worth members of Indian community in the UK; and senior and middle level Indian employees of established British businesses playing an important role in its operations; and British entrepreneurs/businessmen with India interest.

Mr Chandrajit Banerjee, Co-chairman, OIFC & Director General, CII said, “We are thrilled to be back in the UK with the Diaspora Engagement Meet and we plan to hold such platforms on an annual basis. India is reemerging as a much sought after destination for investment in the world and we see this juncture as the most opportune moment to bring all stakeholders – potential overseas investors, policymakers, business leaders – to facilitate inward investment and strengthen bilateral trade ties.”

The OIFC Business Meet is in response to the renewed interest in India after the new government has announced a show of investment friendly measures eg FDI cap relaxation, labour law reforms, e-governance etc. The recently concluded OIFC meet in Bahrain also drew a very good response for potential investment.

The OIFC Diaspora Engagement Meet will see presence of Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt, Chairperson, UK-India Business Council, Mr Uday Dholakia, Chairman, Indo-British Trade Council, H.E. Mr Ranjan Mathai, High Commissioner of India to the UK in the inaugural session.

Some of the other key speakers at the Meet include Mr Atul Bhatnagar, COO, National Skill Development Corp, Mr Praveen Roy, CEO, Tourism & Hospitality Skill Council, Mr P Saxena, Advisor, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy; Prof Samir Dani, Prof of Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Huddersfield University and Board Member, IBTC; Mr Ash Verma; Chairman, Gateway Asia; Mr Vivek Nanda, Principal, AECOM; Mr Philip Bouverat, Director, JCB; Mr Kapil Bakshi; Vice President & Europe Head – Process Engineering, L&T Technology Services; Lord Christopher Peter Moore, Chief Executive, The Enersel Engine Company Limited; Dr Rajib Kumar Mishra, Head Renewables Business, PTC India Ltd; Mr Vijay Goel, Partner, Singhania and Co. They would be showcasing on the opportunities that India has to offer in energy distribution generation and renewable energy, skills development and manufacturing & infrastructure.

Also, some significant senior officials from OIFC’s partner State Governments and Knowledge Partners will be present as speakers.

The other key highlights of the OIFC Meet are:

Two B2B meetings on Skills and Manufacturing/ Infrastructure sector

One Roundtable session on Renewable Energy

OIFC will sign two Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) with UK-India Business Council (UKIBC) and Gateway Asia

Release of following OIFC publications by the Secretary, Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs and Chairman, OIFC:

§  Opportunities for Economic Engagement for Indian Diaspora in UK

§  Doing Business in India guide for Indian Diaspora

Mr Deep Kapuria, Chairman, Hi-Tech Group is part of the business delegation from India

The Meet will share :

§  Government of India initiatives for the Indian Diaspora and invite the Indian community to participate in Pravasi Bharatiya Divas 2015, which will be held in Gujarat to mark 100 years of Mahatma Gandhi’s homecoming.

§  Make in India’ initiative of the Government of India

§  ‘Clean Ganga Fund’ for Holy river Ganga Rejuvenation

§  Opportunities in Industrial corridors and smart cities

§  Metro Rail projects in India

§  Investment opportunities in different states of India

OIFC has engaged with over 8000 overseas investors engaged with India through 30 Diaspora Engagement Meets conducted in Africa, Asia, Caribbean, Europe, Middle East, North America and South East Asia.