About Us
The All-Party Parliamentary Group on India (Trade & Investment) (‘APPG’) was registered in July 2022. The APPG is an interest group that occupies a strategic and effective position within the UK Parliament. It is cross-party and consists of Members of both Peers (Members of the House of Lords) and MPs (Members of the House of Commons). At the time of registration, there were 25 APPG Members across all major political parties from both Houses. Since then the APPG membership has grown to 38 Members.
The APPG is chaired by Lord Bilimoria (Crossbench), Navendu Mishra MP (Labour), and Bob Blackman MP (Conservative), with its President being Baroness Verma (Conservative).
The APPG Secretariat is the 1928 Institute - an official University of Oxford spin-out that researches British Indians and the UK-India relationship. The Secretariat will be the driving force behind the APPG, providing briefings, facilitating visits, engaging with partners/experts, and curating events that underpin the Group’s strategic agenda.
The Group’s status is that of an All-Party Parliamentary Group, bound by the rules set out by The Office of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. It does not have charitable status, or official status in the House, nor is it funded by Parliament.
Our Purpose
The purpose of the APPG is to promote trade and investment between India and the UK for the mutual betterment of their citizens, whilst building an inclusive living bridge between the two countries.
The Group’s cross-cutting aims are to:
Champion opportunities for increased trade and investment between the UK and India;
Strengthen Parliament’s role and ability to address barriers to trade and investment between the UK and India;
Facilitate investments to create an inclusive Living Bridge between the UK and India;
Act as the conduit between UK and Indian policymakers, businesses, and entrepreneurs to drive growth; and
Advocate for a continued friendship between the people of India and the UK.
Our Three Areas of Focus
1. Overcoming Barriers to Trade and Investment
The APPG will focus on understanding the barriers to trade and investment faced by businesses, entrepreneurs and investors in the UK and India. This will be done by leveraging our expert networks of organisations and industry specialists, alongside events and trade missions to India. Once armed with this information the APPG will work to champion targeted policies to overcome these barriers and facilitate economic growth and stronger relations between the nations.
For example, the APPG has been supporting UK Businesses in fast-tracking business visas to India.
2. UK-India Free Trade Agreement
The APPG will be working with Members to provide input and support the ongoing UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations, and promote its benefits once concluded. The Group will undertake research on topics of interest to their constituency and beyond, and participate in workshops and events with specialists on topics related to the FTA.
3. Creating a Living Bridge and Active Networks
The APPG will not only work to strengthen relationships between cross-party members in both Houses of Parliament, but it will also focus on building strategic alliances between the Group’s diverse and cross-sector expert network. The APPG will ensure that dialogue and engagement will cut across all levels of business, government and the community to ensure that the outcomes achieved reach all of society.
