UK-India business centre gets kick-start in Gurgaon

The UK government's decision to create a pan-India network of business centres got a major boost with the appointment of a managing director to head the ambitious project in the country.
The UK India Business Council (UKIBC), tasked with realising British Prime Minister David Cameron's announcement of these centres during his high-profile visit to India in February, named Richard McCallum, co-founder and director of Flying Fox - India's first zipline tour company - as MD of UKIBC India Private Limited.
"I am delighted that Richard McCallum has agreed to join us to lead this effort in India. Together with our Group CEO, Richard Heald, he will lead a step-change in the support available to British businesses wanting to enter or expand in India," said UKIBC chair Patricia Hewitt.

McCallum will take charge of rolling out a series of business centres and services across India from August, with the first such centre to be launched in the industrial hub of Gurgaon in September 2013.
The UKIBC also announced the names of two new members to the India board - Kalyan Bose, president of the British Business Group (BBG) in Delhi, and Vandana Poria, chair of the BBG Pune.
"We intend to create something very relevant and very special in India. McCallum brings a rare combination of practical experience of running an SME (small and medium-sized enterprises) for seven years in India together with proven success of working within a large international company.

"We are looking forward to him deploying this expertise in recruiting and leading a team with strong Indian sectoral and commercial experience," UKIBC Group CEO Richard Heald said.

The Business Centre in Gurgaon will not only be the first of six business centres to be rolled out across India, but also globally the first such business-led initiative being backed by the British government in 20 priority trade markets.
The Gurgaon centre is located in Infinity Towers, Cyber City, and will act as a "hub" within the important north central economic region in India, while a smaller "spoke" in Connaught Place, in the heart of New Delhi, is also in the pipeline.

"The UK and Indian Prime Ministers remain committed to doubling trade and investment between India and the UK by 2015. We are on track to achieve this, but there is no room for complacency.
"This new network of UK-India business centres will prove the perfect complement to the work of our own UK Trade & Investment (UKTI) team across India," said Sir James Bevan, British High Commissioner in India.