Skip to content 
Search

Latest Stories

Indian industry in UK welcomes Sunak's Covid-19 action plan

THE Indian industry in the UK has welcomed the “unprecedented” rescue package unveiled by Britain's finance minister Rishi Sunak to help businesses in Britain combat the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Sunak on Tuesday (18) announced a whopping £330-billion worth of rescue measures in the House of Commons, including easier to access loan facilities, liquidity assistance for businesses through the ongoing crisis period and a 12-month business rates holiday for the retail and hospitality sector.


Jim Bligh, Chair of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) UK India Business Forum said: “This unprecedented support package is very welcome. The Chancellor has extended a third of a trillion pounds in grants, guarantees, corporate paper and unlimited loans, showing the considerable flexibility the state has to act in times of crisis.

“This shock will hit all sectors of the economy and businesses of all sizes, so the Treasury must continue to show flexibility as government, citizens and businesses rise together to defeat the challenge of coronavirus”.

Bligh also called on Indian businesses operating in the UK, estimated at around 842 based on the CII/Grant Thornton ‘India Meets Britain Tracker', to closely follow the government guidance and work together with their trade bodies in the months ahead.

"Coronavirus is the challenge of our working lives. Businesses will play their part in defeating it,” he added.

The £330bn in loans, equivalent to 15 per cent of the UK's GDP, unveiled by Sunak is designed to help businesses pay for supplies, rent and salaries as the country went into near-lockdown to combat the rapid spread of COVID-19, which has claimed 71 lives in the UK.

"We have never in peacetime faced an economic fight like this one," Sunak said, as he presented the package alongside British Prime Minister Boris Johnson at 10 Downing Street in London ahead of his Commons statement on Tuesday.

"We must act like any wartime government and do whatever it takes to support our economy," said Johnson.

The City of London, the heart of London's financial district, has warned that the pandemic could have a crippling effect on the area's many cafes and restaurants.

“With a very small residential population and with more companies allowing staff to work from home or closing their offices entirely, the impact of the current outbreak on City retail and leisure businesses could be devastating,” said Catherine McGuinness, Policy Chair at the City of London Corporation.

“The fundamental strengths of London will help us to recover and rebuild, as we have done before. London will always be one of the world's leading financial centres, a city of global talent with a highly-skilled workforce and more international HQs than any other European city,” she added in a joint statement with Lord Mayor of City of London William Russell.

More For You

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

Workers are engaged at their sewing stations in a garment factory in Savar, on the outskirts of Dhaka, on April 9, 2025. (Photo by MUNIR UZ ZAMAN/AFP via Getty Images)

Bangladesh seeks US deal to shield garment industry from tariffs

BANGLADESH, the world's second-biggest garment manufacturer, aims to strike a trade deal with the US before Donald Trump's punishing tariffs kick in next week, said the country's top commerce official.

Dhaka is proposing to buy Boeing planes and boost imports of US wheat, cotton and oil in a bid to reduce the trade deficit, which Trump used as the reason for imposing painful levies in his "Liberation Day" announcement.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Bond yields ease following Starmer’s support for Reeves

THE COST of UK government borrowing fell on Thursday, partially reversing the rise seen after Chancellor Rachel Reeves became emotional during Prime Minister’s Questions.

The yield on 10-year government bonds dropped to 4.55 per cent, down from 4.61 per cent the previous day. The pound also recovered slightly to $1.3668 (around £1.00), though it did not regain all its earlier losses.

Keep ReadingShow less
modi-trump-getty
Modi shakes hands with Trump before a meeting at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, 2020. (Photo: Getty Images)
Getty Images

Indian exporters watch closely as Trump says trade deal with India likely

THE US could reach a trade deal with India that would help American companies compete more easily in the Indian market and reduce tariff rates, President Donald Trump said on Tuesday. However, he cast doubt on a similar deal with Japan.

Speaking to reporters on Air Force One, Trump said he believed India was ready to lower trade barriers, potentially paving the way for an agreement that would avoid the 26 per cent tariff rate he had announced on April 2 and paused until July 9.

Keep ReadingShow less
Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

Customers shop for 'Kolhapuri' sandals, an Indian ethnic footwear, at a store in New Delhi, India, June 27, 2025. REUTERS/Adnan Abidi

Kolhapuri sandal sales surge in India post Prada controversy

INDIAN footwear sellers and artisans are tapping into nationalist pride stoked by the Prada 'sandal scandal' in a bid to boost sales of ethnic slippers with history dating back to the 12th century, raising hopes of reviving a struggling craft.

Sales are surging over the past week for the 'Kolhapuri' sandals that have garnered global attention after Prada sparked a controversy by showcasing similar designs in Milan, without initially crediting the footwear's origins.

Keep ReadingShow less
UK business district
The Canary Wharf business district including global financial institutions in London.
Getty Images

Economy grew 0.7 per cent in Q1 2025, fastest in a year

THE UK economy expanded at its fastest pace in a year during the first quarter of 2025, driven by a rise in home purchases ahead of a tax deadline and higher manufacturing output before the introduction of new US import tariffs.

Gross domestic product rose by 0.7 per cent in the January-to-March period, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, confirming its earlier estimate. This was the strongest quarterly growth since the first quarter of 2024.

Keep ReadingShow less