By IANS
London : Phiroz Vandrevala, a member of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) national council, has taken over as the co-chairperson of the Indo-British Partnership (IBP) from the Indian side for 2007-08.
A vice co-chairperson of IBP India during 2006-07, Vandrevala is the Executive Vice President of Tata Consultancy Services Ltd, a CII statement here said.
Then British and Indian prime ministers formed the Indo-British Partnership Initiative (IBPI) in 1993. Its mandate is to increase bilateral trade and investment with particular emphasis on small and medium enterprises and to promote technology and science links between the two countries.
It also serves as a platform for reviewing, at a business level, progress of the bilateral Joint Economic Trade Committee (JETCO).
Backed by the two governments and led by industry, the initiative has become an ongoing partnership and is called IBP.
In India, the IBP secretariat is managed by CII in collaboration with the Trade and Investment department of the British High Commission, and in Britain by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI).
Trade between India and Britain has grown 175 percent since IBP was formed. Over 2,000 joint venture agreements have been signed between Indian and British companies since 1993.
Britain has emerged as the third largest overseas investor after Mauritius and the US in terms of new investments approved. It is also the largest market for Indian IT services, the statement said.
Sir Robert Evans (of Britain) and Jamshed J. Irani (India) were the founding co-chairmen of IBP. Other past co-chairs of IBP include N.R. Narayana Murthy and David Jeferries. Karan Bilimoria, founder and Chief Executive of Cobra Beer Ltd, is the current Co-Chair from the British side.