Overview

• Trade ministers reset the Joint Economic and Trade Committee to oversee implementation of the agreement, with both sides pushing to operationalise it within about a year.
• Nine British universities received approval to establish campuses in India, including clearances for sites in GIFT City and letters of intent for Lancaster University in Bengaluru and the University of Surrey in GIFT City.
• Defence steps include Indian Air Force instructors integrating as trainers with the Royal Air Force and a government-to-government supply arrangement for lightweight multirole missile systems, alongside expanded Indo-Pacific maritime cooperation.
• New initiatives under the Technology and Security Initiative include a Joint Centre for AI, a Connectivity and Innovation Centre, Phase II of the Critical Minerals Supply Chain Observatory with an industry guild, a Climate Technology Startup Fund and an Offshore Wind Taskforce.
• Starmer led the UK’s largest trade mission to India with roughly 125 delegates, the reconstituted India–UK CEO Forum convened in Mumbai and the UK cited £1.3 billion of planned investment by 64 Indian companies.