Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

‘It’s time for UK-India ties to focus on a joint growth story’

Britain should be part of Delhi's ambitious plans for the future, says Labour MP

‘It’s time for UK-India ties to focus on a joint growth story’
Kanishka Narayan (centre) with fellow visiting British MPs, Rajasthan chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma (left) and other officials

FOUR months since my election to parliament, I had the opportunity to join my parliamentary colleagues on a delegation to India, visiting Delhi and Jaipur for conversations with our Indian counterparts, business leaders and academics.

I went to make the case for Indian investment in my constituency and across the UK.


Returning from my trip to India, though, I came away with a single message – the strongest thread tying the UK and India together is not our past, but an ambitious future that both countries are chasing.

At its core, meeting counterparts at each level – from advisers to the Indian prime minister, Narendra Modi, to the chief minister in Rajasthan, Bhajan Lal Sharma – made it clear that in India and in the UK, we have the same vision for the future.

Our prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer, has set out a central mission: to bring ambition back to the UK’s economic growth. Growth offers opportunity and jobs for us. It gets us tax revenues to support our public services. Crucially, after a decade of Britain’s international reputation being eroded, growth is our ticket to a proud, bold international identity again.

That growth mission underpins our government’s total approach. To get there, we are focused on attracting all the international investment we can get for the UK.

India’s prime minister has a similar overarching mission: ‘Viksit Bharat’, the aim of making India a developed nation in its economy by 2047, the centenary of India’s independence.

It is a bold mission, requiring the economy to scale almost 10 times compared to its present size. To achieve that, the Indian government is nationally and, at state level, focused on attracting international investment.

Coincidentally, I visited India weeks after the UK’s Global Investment Summit, which raised an exceptional £63 billion of investment in the UK. It happened to be only weeks before Rajasthan, India’s largest state by area, was hosting its own Global Investment Summit to attract investment. In clean energy, higher education, and technology, there is obvious scope for the UK and India to come together for our shared growth.

What is true of growth is true elsewhere. The UK and India are united now by us both chasing deeply ambitious futures – for healthcare, where our partnership in matching the UK’s scientific expertise with India’s manufacturing capacity has already given the world lifesaving Covid vaccines. There is much more we can do.

An ambitious future for technology, where the UK’s global leadership in artificial intelligence sits alongside India’s exceptional technological talent.

And one for public services, where we can learn the lessons of India’s unified payments and digital delivery of services, as well as share ideas with India on supporting life sciences research for public good.

Of course, our history matters. Knowing where we came from can help guide where we go. It was especially so for me. Returning to Delhi, where my family lived for a decade and where I spent part of my childhood, I was full of the fondest memories.

As a proud British Hindu, I was delighted to join cousins in prayer in Delhi. Having been fed a joyful diet of Bollywood songs in childhood, I was grateful for a refresh, though they never sound as good as 1980s and 1990s Bollywood.

My visit reminded me also of Britain’s remarkable success. That I, the first ethnic minority MP elected in Wales, was on a UK parliamentary delegation to India affirmed what we cherish deeply about Britain – our unique ability to bring us together, regardless of background, into a shared common pursuit of national progress.

But the main lesson I took away from India was that our ties with India need a gear shift. The first 75 years of India’s independence were marked by a relationship focused on our deep history. For the next 75, it is on us – a new generation of British leaders across politics, business, culture – to focus on a different basis to UK-India ties, one that chases the future.

When India reaches its state of developed nation by 2047, my ambition is for Britain to stand alongside it, having taken that journey of exceptional growth together.

(Kanishka Narayan is the Labour MP for Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.)

More For You

Dynamic dance passion

Mevy Qureshi conducting a Bollywoodinspired exercise programme

Dynamic dance passion

Mevy Qureshi

IN 2014, I pursued my passion for belly dancing at the Fleur Estelle Dance School in Covent Garden, London. Over the next three years, I mastered techniques ranging from foundational movements to advanced choreography and performance skills. This dedication to dance led to performing in front of audiences, including a memorable solo rendition of Bruno Mars’ Uptown Funk, which showcased dynamic stage presence and delighted the crowd.

However, my connection to dance began much earlier. The energy, vibrancy, and storytelling of Bollywood captivated me from a very young age. The expressive movements, lively music, and colourful costumes offered a sense of joy and empowerment that became the foundation of my dance passion.

Keep ReadingShow less
‘Will Gaza surrender if brutal strategy of famine is forced?’

A boy looks on as he eats at a camp sheltering displaced Palestinians set up at a landfil in the Yarmuk area in Gaza City on March 20, 2025. Israel bombarded Gaza and pressed its ground operations on March 20, after issuing what it called a "last warning" for Palestinians to return hostages and remove Hamas from power.

Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP via Getty Images

‘Will Gaza surrender if brutal strategy of famine is forced?’

THERE was supposed to be a ceasefire in the Israel-Gaza conflict, yet Israel appears to have turned to a new and deadly weapon – starvation of the besieged population.

Is this a cunning way to avoid accusations of breaking the peace agreement? Instead of re-starting the bombardment, is mass famine the new tactic?

Keep ReadingShow less
Bollywood meets Hollywood: A fusion of glamour, identity, and rebellion

Shiveena Haque

Bollywood meets Hollywood: A fusion of glamour, identity, and rebellion

Shiveena Haque

BOLLYWOOD and Hollywood are so similar, yet worlds apart, but their influences run deep. While each is celebrated for being unique, what isn’t often discussed or acknowledged are the times when they have beautifully blended, including in everyday life.

Many of these influences will always run deep. From vintage Hollywood to sparkles of Hindi cinema, their romance has created many passionate, brave spirits, with a dash of rebellion, adorned with diamantes and dramatic gestures. One of them is me! It’s a flame that will never go out.

Keep ReadingShow less
Comment: Ramadan’s message of unity, charity, and faith can inspire us all

Nigel Huddleston

Comment: Ramadan’s message of unity, charity, and faith can inspire us all

Nigel Huddleston

RAMADAN is a unique and special time for Muslims in Britain and across the world. It is a time to reflect on and renew their faith, through devotion and spirituality, while fulfilling the five pillars of Islam.

During this hugely important time of prayer and fasting, the message of Ramadan is one we can all relate to – especially the importance of charity and compassion. These core values at the heart of Islamic faith are the very same values that those of all faiths or none can aspire to.

Keep ReadingShow less
Comment: ‘UK’s multicultural identity owes much to south Asians’

Lord Kamlesh Patel of Bradford, chair of the project; Vikram Doraiswami, India’s high commissioner to the UK; Lord Navnit Dholakia, former deputy leader of the Liberal Democrats; and Professor Mark Smith, vice-chancellor of the University of Southampton, at the launch of the Ramniklal Solanki Pioneers Project in July 2024

Comment: ‘UK’s multicultural identity owes much to south Asians’

Sabu S Padmadas

IN 1951, Sardar Harnam Singh Roudh arrived by himself to England from Punjab, carrying only a suitcase of clothes and £3 in his pocket.

His legacy as a pioneer is best remembered for his compassionate leadership and selfless service in uniting people from diverse backgrounds, while championing the local Sikh community to thrive in a multicultural Britain.

Keep ReadingShow less