THE ASIAN INDEPENDENT UK
The largest, independently-organised UK-India series of conferences concluded on Saturday with blockbuster sessions with some of India’s leading journalists, assembled for the first time in London, at private members’ club The Conduit.
Organised by one of India Week’s partners Talk Journalism, it featured Rajdeep Sardesai, Smita Prakash, Suhashini Haider, Saurabh Dwivedi and Kamlesh Singh in a series of candid, full-house sessions on how the evolving Indian media landscape.
The annual India Week on 26-30 May saw more than 1,600 people from nearly a dozen countries attend nine sold-out events across London, with leading policy, journalism, business and film figures attending.
This year’s series of events included several new initiatives this year, including in Track 2 diplomacy, facilitating global franchises to come to India in conjunction with Franchise India, and enabling export-orientated Indian businesses to find UK distributors.
Speakers and attendees include Sir Vince Cable, Michelin-starred chef Atul Kochhar, film producer Monisha Advani, music producer Rishi Rich, Prince of Mewar Lakshyaraj Singh Mewar, Lord Karan Bilimoria, London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) CEO Karim Fatehi OBE, senior venture capitalists Raja Ganapathy and Stewart Langdon, and others.
Some of the topics discussed at the flagship Ideas for India conference, organised by think tank Bridge India, included India’s place in a multipolar world, India’s relationship with its South Asian neighbourhood, stories from leading Indian founders taking India to the world, how Western media can better cover vernacular and local stories in India, and how to boost UK-India film coproduction investments.
Several Indian-origin film makers from around the world will be attending to raise finances for their upcoming feature film projects, in what is the UK’s only dedicated film co-production market, called the Film Conclave.
LCCI CEO Karim Fatehi said at a joint reception that India Week was “the leading platform for UK-India trade and investment.”
The exclusive Black-tie Dinner featured over 250 guests and honoured businessman Manish Tiwari from Here&Now 365 with the Achievement in Business award, bhangra star H Dhami for Achievement in Entertainment, and Poonam Sharma from Barclays Eagle Labs for her work bringing British South Asian entrepreneurs together, with the Achievement in Community Service award.
Other partners of India Week included global education provider Regent Group and blindness charity Operation Eyesight Universal.
Curator of India Week Pratik Dattani said: “In a difficult geopolitical reality, the role of India on the global stage is changing. India Week is the leading such European non-politically aligned series of events, to bring India to the world. Our conversations extend across film, literature, journalism, business and public policy.”
London-based Indian entrepreneur, Sukhpal Ahluwalia, said: “India Week plays an important role in strengthening the relationship between the UK and India, not just commercially, but culturally and entrepreneurially too. There is still far more both countries can do together, and I want to play an active role in helping to drive that forward. As I spend more time on the ground in India over the coming years, supporting stronger cross-border relationships, businesses and opportunities will become an even bigger focus for me”.
