Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

New study calls for stronger India-UK knowledge ties

New study calls for stronger India-UK knowledge ties

THE BRITISH government should make a comprehensive knowledge partnership with India one of the main goals of the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, according to a new UK study released this week.

‘Natural partners: Building a comprehensive UK-India knowledge partnership', led by former UK universities minister Jo Johnson for the Harvard Kennedy School and the Policy Institute at King's College London, proposes a number of reforms to bolster the competitiveness and long-term sustainability of the UK's position in international education.


It advocates reducing the dependence on China and driving out fraud and abuse that threatens the integrity of the visa system.

“The UK needs to deploy its knowledge assets, notably its universities and its research base in a more strategic way with India, by making a comprehensive knowledge partnership' the centrepiece of a post-Brexit UK-India free trade agreement,” said Lord Johnson, a senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School and president's professorial fellow at King's College, London.

The study, released on Thursday (9), says the UK should aim to double the number of Indian students studying at UK universities to 100,000 by 2024-25.

In 2019-20, there were 139,000 Chinese students hosted by UK institutions, the most from any foreign country and two and a half times the 53,000 from India who studied in Britain.

The new report urges the government to tackle fraud in international recruitment by deploying cutting-edge document verification tools and by taking steps to stop rogue agents lending and recycling funds on a short-term basis to assist multiple students in bypassing financial tests for visa approval.

“UK Visas and Immigration should adopt a similar approach to Canada's Student Direct Scheme, which provides a fast visa processing time to students who can prove they have purchased from a recognised bank a guaranteed investment certificate of Canadian dollar 10,000,” said Jo Johnson, the younger brother of British prime minister Boris Johnson.

The analysis also highlights a number of potential flashpoints with China, and that a deterioration in diplomatic relations “with knock-on effects for international education, open science and internationally collaborative research” is a real possibility.

A structural breakdown in the UK's relations with India, the world's largest democracy, is, by contrast, “almost inconceivable”, the report said.

According to the findings, while India is currently overshadowed by China as a force in the global knowledge economy, it is the one country whose demographics and economic potential could enable it to become a knowledge partner for the UK of equivalent importance.

India is home to the world's largest youthful population under the age of 25, representing over 600 million people. This “demographic dividend” has the potential to be the country's main source of economic growth over the coming decades, but whether it fulfils that potential depends in large part on raising educational attainment.

A comprehensive knowledge partnership that forms the centrepiece of an FTA with India, negotiations for which are set to begin in the new year, is in line with the UK's need to develop new strategic partnerships that embody the idea of “Global Britain” and highlight the advantages of leaving the European Union, the report notes.

Such a proposed India-UK “comprehensive knowledge partnership” should have five building blocks: mutual recognition of credits and qualifications treaty; doubling of student numbers by moving India to the low-risk country list; launch of an authorised loan funding programme for Indian students; more UK students studying at Indian institutions; and collaborative R&D that promotes frontier science.

(PTI)

More For You

Air India

The Amritsar-Birmingham and Amritsar-London Gatwick routes will each increase from three to four weekly flights, while Ahmedabad-London Gatwick will go from three to five weekly flights.

Air India to increase flights between UK and India from March 30

AIR INDIA will increase flight frequencies on key routes as part of its Northern Summer schedule, effective 30 March 2025.

In the UK, the airline will add three more flights on the Delhi-London Heathrow route, increasing from 21 to 24 weekly flights using a mix of A350-900 and upgraded B787-9 aircraft.

Keep ReadingShow less
Pablo-Escobar-merchandise-Getty

Escobar, killed by security forces in 1993, remains a figure of global interest, with his image appearing on souvenirs like T-shirts, mugs, and keychains. (Photo: Getty Images)

Colombia considers ban on Pablo Escobar merchandise

COLOMBIA’s Congress is considering a bill that would ban the sale of merchandise featuring drug lord Pablo Escobar and other convicted criminals.

The proposed law aims to curb the glorification of Escobar, who was responsible for thousands of deaths during his time leading the Medellín cartel, reported BBC.

Keep ReadingShow less
Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Polls show most Britons back assisted dying, with supporters calling for the law to reflect public opinion.

Assisted dying bill: Judge approval scrapped for expert panel safeguard

Eastern Eye

THE proposed new assisted dying law for terminally ill people will be amended to remove the requirement that a high court judge sign off on each case, Labour MP Kim Leadbeater said on Tuesday (11).

Opponents of assisted dying said the change would weaken the safeguards around protecting vulnerable people from being coerced or pressured into taking their own lives.

Keep ReadingShow less
Andrew Malkinson

Malkinson, 59, has been struggling financially since his release and has been on universal credit for 19 months. (Photo: X/@NotThatBigIan)

Wrongful rape conviction: Andrew Malkinson to get 'significant' compensation

ANDREW MALKINSON, who spent 17 years in prison for a rape he did not commit, will receive a six-figure interim compensation payment from the Ministry of Justice.

The payment comes more than a year after his conviction was overturned by the Court of Appeal in July 2023.

Keep ReadingShow less
IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

The assessment will shape structural reforms and examine protections for property rights and foreign investments

IMF team visits Pakistan to assess governance and corruption reforms

Eastern Eye

A TECHNICAL team from the International Monetary Fund met Pakistan’s chief justice Yahya Afridi on Tuesday (11) to conduct a Governance and Corruption Diagnostic Assessment under the 2024 Extended Fund Facility programme.

The IMF team is in the country for a week-long trip to scrutinise the judicial and regulatory framework tackling governance and corruption as part of a £5.6 billion loan agreed last year.

Keep ReadingShow less