By IANS
New Delhi : Phiroz Vandrevala, executive vice president of Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services, will now co-chair the Indo-British Partnership (IBP), a body aiming to increase trade between Britain and India.
The IBP, formerly called Indo-British Partnership Initiative (IBPI), was constituted in 1993, by the governments of India and Britain with a mandate to increase bilateral trade and investment.
It was mandated to specially emphasise the growth of small and medium enterprises and to promote science and technology links between the two countries and also to review the progress of the bilateral joint economic trade committee.
The IBP, headed by Lord Karan Bilimoria – founder and chief executive of Cobra Beer Ltd – from Britain's side, has taken the shape of an ongoing partnership. In India, the IBP secretariat is managed by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
The Trade and Investment department of the British High Commission also manages the IBP. In Britain, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) handles its affairs.
In January 2007, British Chancellor of Exchequer and prime minister-in-waiting Gordon Brown announced funds worth one million pounds annually for this initiative.
India is currently the second largest investor in Britain after the US. Britain is also India's largest market for IT services exports, which amounts to about $1 billion.