Scotland organises own 'Make in India' day

LONDON: Scotland has organised a ' Make in India' day to coincide with Mumbai's 'Make in India' Week in Edinburgh in an attempt to attract Scottish businesses to the initiative.

The High Growth Markets Unit at the Scottish Development International (SDI), in collaboration with the Indian High Commission here, Confederation of Indian Industry and UK India Business Council ( UKIBC), brought together a number of Scottish companies, primarily in the small and medium enterprise sector.

"India's aspiration to become a globally significant manufacturing hub requires successful partnership with UK and Scotland. I believe such collaborative events will be one of many to follow and will yield positive results in stronger bilateral trade and investment between India and Scotland," Dr Virander Paul, Deputy High Commissioner of India, said at the event organised yesterday.

SDI, in a first of its kind initiative, has set up the High Growth Markets Unit in Scotland to help Scottish businesses explore, identify and exploit business opportunities in India, China and the Middle East. It has three offices in India across New Delhi, Mumbai and Hyderabad, headed by Rooma Bussi, Country Manager of SDI India.

Suzanne Sosna, Head of Trade & Investment Services Directorate at SDI, who was in India on a market visit in December, highlighted the immense efforts being made in helping Scottish businesses access market opportunities in India.

UKIBC director Stephen Toogood's presentation on 'Make in India' highlighted the ongoing success of the campaign, which is likely to drive India's economic growth over the next decade and the opportunities it creates for businesses in Scotland.

Shuchita Sonalika, UK Director for CII, spoke about the various platforms and events where businesses could engage to further explore business and institutional collaboration, particularly in the technology, higher education and innovation space.

Uzair Syed, India Lead at the High Growth Markets Unit, said the event was part of continuing collaborations with key organisations with the view to strengthening the economic ties between India and Scotland.