Scottish Development International expands the GlobalScot network in India

Ambition to grow bilateral investment between India and Scotland by 20 - 25% in the next 3 years

Mumbai, 18^th March 2016: Scottish Development International today announced the expansion of the GlobalScots network in India. The three new members have formally joined the prestigious network at an event held in Mumbai, taking the total number of GlobalScots in India to ten.

The ceremony in Mumbai saw Mr. Paul Lewis, Managing Director of Scottish Development International, formally welcoming the new GlobalScots for India – Ms. Kashmira Mewawala, Head of Business Development and Chief Ethics Counsellor, Tata Capital, and Mr Prashant Maniar, Managing Director, Omega Diagnostics, India. Mr Gopalan Rajgopalan, Head of Scotland, TCS is the third GlobalScot who was honoured in a ceremony in Edinburgh last month.

The GlobalScot network is made up of 627 senior business leaders, entrepreneurs and executives across the globe, with a connection to Scotland, who have a strong desire to see Scottish businesses succeed locally and in the wider world. n India, the network is made up of senior industry leaders including Mr S K Munjal, Joint Managing Director, Hero Motocorp., Ms Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, Chairperson and Managing Director Biocon Limited, Mr Stuart P Milne, India CEO, HSBC, Mr Laxman Kr. Badiga, CEO, Ignis Software Technologies Pvt. Ltd., Mr Anthony Menezes, Executive Vice President, Yes Bank, Mr Rajiv Bhatia, Director Middle East, Gulf, India Subcontinent, William Grant & Sons, Dr Pradep Rammayya, CEO, Axsys Healthcare. At the moment there are.).

Welcoming the new GlobalScots to the network, Mr. Lewis said:

“It is an honour to be here in India and to get this opportunity to officially welcome such senior industry leaders to the GlobalScot network. Scotland and India have strong connections when it comes to international trade and investment, and the growth of the GlobalScot network is a real testament to this fact. With a strong focus on sectors such astechnology and advanced engineering; life sciences and financial services, our Indian operations have built on these very links since we expanded our presence here in 2001.

I am sure the relationships that Ms. Mewawala, Mr. Gopalan and Mr. Maniar have with Scotland already, will help us develop new opportunities for our companies here in India and vice versa. In recent years these strong personal connections have been matched by growing co-operation between our governments, universities and trade organisations.  As a result, we are building new educational, cultural and business links between our countries.”

Rooma Kumar Bussi, Country Director, Scottish Development International India said:

"I am delighted that the new GlobalScots are onboard the India network. My team and I have drawn on the experience of the network a number of times and we greatly appreciate the value that their collective knowledge, experience and networks, bring to the table. It is hugely important for the success of the business relationship between India and Scotland and I firmly believe that with the new GlobalScots on board, this relationship will only grow further.

At the moment we have 11 Indian companies invested in Scotland and 15 Scottish companies operating successfully in India. Our ambition is to grow this bilateral investment by 20 - 25% as we expand our networks in a number of markets here in India. We hope to be able to offer the new GlobalScots the opportunity to create and develop stronger and mutually beneficial connections, both in Scotland and here in India and contribute to this growth story.”

Mr. Lewis will also visit Delhi and Hyderabad during the week to meet with current and potential Indian investors in Scotland, as well as promoting new trade activity.