• The High Commission of India in London has created a flagship programme – the Access India Programme (AIP) in the UK
• First of its kind for supporting UK businesses access the Make in India initiative of the Government of India
• This is the first cohort selected from thousands of applicants, with other cohorts to follow

The High Commission of India in London has created a flagship programme – the Access India Programme (AIP) in the UK. This newly launched market entry support programme is the first of its kind for supporting UK businesses access the Make in India initiative of the Government of India. The programme will solely focus on providing support to small and medium UK enterprises.

The First Cohort of 24 UK SMEs to be taken on board AIP was announced during the recent visit of PM Modi and his senior delegation to the UK. A meeting of these companies with Mr Ramesh Abhishek, Secretary DIPP and Invest India CEO, Mr Deepak Bagla was organised last month. Some of the larger UK companies including Perkins, BAE Systems, JCB, Rolls Royce, Renishaw and TWI, who are involved as mentors for AIP, were also present at the meeting. This is the first cohort selected from thousands of applicants, with other cohorts to follow.

One of the selected UK businesses joining the first cohort, Global Processing Services (GPS), Deputy CEO, Joanne Dewar comments, “It is a great honour to have been selected to be part of the first cohort for the Access India Programme. This initiative will truly help UK businesses understand and navigate the complex dynamics of the market in India and help lower perceived barriers to entry.  I’m sure we’ll see many collaborations and opportunities emerge from this programme between UK and local businesses. We are already benefitting from the support and guidance offered.”

The Access India Programme (AIP) in the UK is a newly launched market entry support programme and the first of its kind for supporting UK businesses access to ‘Make in India initiative’ of the Government of India. The programme seeks to identify high-potential UK SME companies that possess high-end technologies and innovative products and will assist them in establishing themselves in India. For these companies, the programme will provide a detailed programme of activity, mentoring, networking opportunities and market entry support services. These services could be in areas including strategy advisory, operational market entry support, tax & legal support, financial services, project financing, M&A, location services, technology collaboration, facilitation of approvals from central and state agencies will be provided.

The AIP Steering Committee is headed by H. E. Mr Y. K. Sinha, comprising of representatives of partner ministries and institutions who will be in charge of monitoring the programme and reviewing the progress on a quarterly basis.

The AIP project team includes:

• Ambassador Dinesh K. Patnaik, Deputy High Commissioner, High Commission of India, London and Head of AIP Project Team
• Mr Saikat Sen Sharma, Councellor (Economic & Commercial), High Commission of India, London
• Mr Rahul Nangare, First Secretary (Trade), High Commission of India, London
• Ms Kiran Khatri, Second Secretary, High Commission of India, London
• Supported by AIP Knowledge Partner, UK India Business Council (UKIBC), responsible for the day-to-day management of the AIP Programme.
• Mr Richard Heald OBE, Group CEO, UK India Business Council
• Mr Prasenjit Dhar, AIP Programme Manager & Sector Manager (Advanced Engineering & Energy), UK India Business Council

For more information on the programme, see here