4-7 December 2006
Sir Nicholas Stern
Head of the UK Government's Economic Service

Sir Nicholas Stern visited India in the first week of December. He is the Head of the UK Government's Economic Service and is a former World Bank Chief Economist. He has recently authored a report titled 'The Stern Review' - a comprehensive study every carried out on the economic impacts of climate change. During his visit to New Delhi, he engaged with key Indian stakeholders and shared the findings of 'The Stern Review'. He attended two public events, met members of the Planning Commission, Ministry of Environment & Forests, Ministry of Power and the Indian Prime Minister.

23-27 November 2006
Ian McCartney
Minister of State for Trade, Investment and Foreign Affairs

Ian McCartney's India visit followed on from the India-UK Investment Summit held in London in October, attended by both Prime Ministers, and was an indicator of the UK’s continuing commitment to developing its bilateral business relationship with India. Mr McCartney was in Kolkata on 23 November and in Delhi from 25-27 November. The Minister was accompanied to India by a high-level business delegation which included senior individuals from companies such as SERCO, British Gas and Halcrow. In Delhi, he attended the India Economic Summit.

17-18 November 2006
Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
Leader of the House of Commons

The Leader of the House of Commons visited India on 17-18 November 2006, to participate in the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi. Jack Straw delivered a speech on 'India: A threat or opportunity to its neighbours?' on 17 November 2006. 

15-16 November 2006
Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP
UK Minister for Sport

The Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP, was on an official two-day visit to New Delhi on 15-16 November 2006. This was Mr Caborn’s first visit to India. Mr Caborn leading a 19-member UK business delegation met Indian ministers and officials involved with organising Delhi’s Commonwealth Games 2010. He attended a CII business networking session. Mr Caborn also met members of the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) to congratulate India on winning the joint bid to host the Cricket World Cup - 2011.

2-8 November 2006
Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

The British Foreign Minister visited India between 2-8 November. This was her first visit to India, since becoming Foreign Minister. She visited New Delhi, Hyderabad and Mumbai. In Delhi met with the Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh, Foreign Minister Mr Pranab Mukherjee, Finance Minister P Chidambaram, Home Minister Mr Shivraj Patil and other senior members of the government. In Hyderabad she visited a DFID funded project while in Mumbai she spoke on the growing business links between the India and the UK. Mrs Beckett met with Maharashtra Chief Minster Mr Vilasrao Deshmukh and to share UK's view on terrorism. 

29 October-4 November 2006
His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, The Duke of York
UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment

His Royal Highness Prince Andrew, The Duke of York, visited India from Sunday 29 October to Saturday 4 November 2006. The Duke of York visited New Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai as the UK’s Special Representative for International Trade and Investment, supporting UK companies trading internationally and encouraging foreign investment. His Royal Highness also presented the first-ever UK Trade & Investment India Business Awards in Mumbai on November 1.

4-7 September 2006
David Cameron
Leader of the Conservative Party

The leader of the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom, David Cameron, visited India from 4 -7 September. He was accompanied by the Shadow Chancellor, George Osborne. They visited Pune, Mumbai and New Delhi. In Pune, Mr Cameron opened the JCB Plant. In Mumbai, they toured the campus of India’s largest IT company TCS. Mr Cameron also made a speech on the global economy and the Indo-British relationship in the 21st century to the city’s business leaders. He met with political and business leaders in New Delhi.

15-19 May 2006
Lord Adam Hafejee Patel
Member of the House of Lords

A delegation of prominent British Muslims led by Lord Adam Hafejee Patel, member of the House of Lords visited Delhi, Lucknow and Hyderabad 15-19 May 2006. Other members of the delegation were Waqar Azmi, Museji Takolia, Waqqas Khan, Rabia Malik, Unaiza Karim. The delegation met with key representatives from the social, educational and political fields, in a bid to understand key concerns of the Muslims. The visit was to help project a constructive image of Islam in Britain and enable cross-fertilisation of ideas between British and Indian Muslims.

9-13 April 2006
Rt Hon Peter Hain MP
UK’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

UK’s Secretary of State for Northern Ireland visited India to promote investment, trade, tourism and academic co-operation between India and Northern Ireland. Representatives from some of Northern Ireland’s most innovative companies and Universities accompanied Mr Hain on his tour of Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. He met a range of political and economic representatives and also delivered a lecture on Northern Ireland’s political process. The delegation also met tourism trade operators and Bollywood producers, in a bid to attract more Indian tourists to Northern Ireland.

 26-31 March 2006
The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall

HRH The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall visited India Sunday 26 March to Friday 31 March. HRH The Prince of Wales last visited India 28 October - 5 November 2003. This was Their Royal Highnesses’ second joint overseas tour, following a visit to the United States of America in November last year. Their Royal Highnesses visited New Delhi, Punjab and Rajasthan. In New Delhi, TRH attended the British High Commissioner’s annual reception for diplomats, politicians and businessmen. In Punjab and Rajasthan, where The Prince of Wales and the British Indian community have been taking forward a range of charitable initiatives, the Chief Ministers invited TRH to support plans to help promote sustainable farming, water conservation and employment generation.

21-23 March 2006
Tessa Jowell
Minister for Culture, Media and Sport

The UK Minister, who was in Mumbai as a guest speaker at Frames 2006 announced a ‘UK-India University Partnership Scheme’ with a grant of £2 million. The grant is for measures that will allow international students to take their place in the global search for talent. The package will include £1 million in both 2006-07 and 2007-08 for UK-India scholarships, academic exchanges and university collaboration to help higher education sector benefit from global skills. 

19-28 March 2006
Lord Mayor-Alderman David Brewer
Lord Mayor of City of London

Lord Mayor David Brewer, who represents the global financial services industry based in the City of London, arrived in New Delhi at the head of a business delegation to strengthen links with India in business, financial, legal and education sectors. The Lord Mayor, visited Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Hyderabad encompassing more than 60 meetings and seminars. In Delhi, he inaugurated and addressed a seminar on ‘The City of London – Your Gateway to Global Business’. He also took forward a project for a City of London office in Mumbai.

5-12 March 2006
Lord Chris Patten
The Chancellor of The University Of Oxford

Lord Chris Patten's visit aimed at strengthening the UK - India education relationship and to promote Oxford as a centre of academic and creative excellence for Indian students aspiring to study in Britain. The Chancellor of The University Of Oxford attended alumni receptions in New Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai and met prominent business leaders to explore possible industry-academia linkages. He also attended the UK - India Round Table in Goa.

18-26 February 2006
Elliot Morley MP
Minister of State Climate Change and Environment

During his visit Elliot Morley attended the CII Conference on Energy Derivatives and Emission Trading in Mumbai on 20 February. Mr Morley also visited New Delhi, Bhopal and Corbett National Park where he will met State Government officials to discuss issues on wildlife conservation and management. In New Delhi, the Minister attended a seminar on Mainstreaming Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) opportunities in the Indian Finance sector organised by IT Power India.

16-23 February 2006
Lord Sainsbury of Turville
Minister for Science and Innovation

Lord Sainsbury of Turville visited India from 16-23 February 2006. During his visit he presented the 2006 Global Leadership Awards instituted by National Association of Software and Service companies, in Mumbai. He also visited Bangalore and Delhi. In Delhi Lord Sainsbury met Mr Kapil Sibal, Minister for Science; Professor V S Ramamurthy, Secretary Department of Science & Technology and Prof. Samir K. Brahmachari, Director, Institute of Genomics and Integrative Biology (IGIB).

 17-22 February 2006
Mervyn King
Governor of the Bank of England

Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, was in India recently to deliver a major speech on the 'Reform of the International Monetary Fund' at the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER). During his visit to India, Mervyn King also launched Chance to Shine, a UK charity.

2-6 February 2006
Jim Knight MP
Parliamentary Under-Secretary (Commons) Rural Affairs, Landscape and Biodiversity

Jim Knight, UK Minister for Biodiversity, visited India from 2-6 February 2006. During his visit he delivered a keynote speech at the Delhi Sustainable Development Summit, in New Delhi. Mr Knight, also met Mr A Raja, Minister of Environment and Forests, and Mr Mani Shankar Aiyar, Minister Panchayati Raj. Mr Knight also visited the Vultures Breeding Centre at Pinjore (Haryana) and Ranthambore National Park to see for himself developments relating to tiger conservation.

 1-2 February 2006
Lord Drayson
Minister for Defence Procurement

Lord Drayson was in New Delhi 1 – 2 February 2006 to support the attendance of UK companies at DEFEXPO 2006. During his visit Lord Drayson met the Indian Defence Minister, Shri Pranab Mukherjee, to discuss a wide range of bilateral defence issues.

15-18 January 2006
Ian Pearson MP
Minister of State for Trade, Trade Policy and Foreign Affairs

Ian Pearson, UK Minister for Trade, visited India 15-18 January 2006. He spent a day each in New Delhi, Chennai and Kolkata, met Mr Kamal Nath, Minister of Commerce and Industry, in New Delhi on 16 January, and addressed the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) Partnership Summit in Kolkata on 18 January. He was accompanied by a 25-strong business delegation. The delegation, led by Indo British Partnership Network (IBPN) Chairman Karan Bilimoria CBE, DL, included senior officials from Standard Chartered Bank, GlaxoSmithKline, Virgin Atlantic and the London Stock Exchange.