A conference, meeting prospective investors to attract investments and discussions with public representatives for promoting bilateral trade in London figured prominently in the engagement of Industries and IT Minister K. T. Rama Rao and members of the official delegation he has led to the U.K.
The Minister met President-Life Sciences of Croda International Daniele Piergentili following which it was announced that the specialty chemicals company will be setting up a global technical centre in Genome Valley, Hyderabad. The GTC is a significant step towards establishing Croda’s presence in Telangana, which has emerged a critical hub supporting India’s position as the ‘Pharmacy of the World’.
Croda is behind sustainable, high-performance ingredients and technologies in some of the world’s most successful brands related to personal care, home care, pharma, crop care, industrial specialties, including coatings and textiles, Mr.Rao’s office said in a release on Saturday.
Mr.Rao, who addressed the ‘Ideas for India conference -2023’, also met members of the leadership team of Lloyds Banking Group, Greenjets, Haleon separately.
During the meeting with the Banking Group team, which included Group COO Ruth Anderson, Future Ways of Working Director David Blott and Group COO and HR Director Sarah Underhill, the Minister pitched Telangana as an ideal gateway for U.K.-based companies to invest in India. He highlighted the State’s world-class infrastructure, supportive policies, and skilled workforce. He urged the group to explore investment opportunities in the financial sector.
Mr. Rao’s meeting with Haleon’s Vice President and Global Head of Policy and Government Engagement Damion Potter was aimed at exploring potential areas of collaboration between the company, which is major player in the healthcare industry and Telangana in the consumer health sector.
UK-based aerospace company Greenjets’ delegation to the meeting with the Minister was led by its founder and CEO Anmol Manohar and it apprised the latter of the establishment of the company’s Indian operations in Telangana. Mr.Rao assured the State government’s support for the company’s plans. Greenjets, which develops electric jet engines, has chosen Telangana to enter the Indian drone market and also entered into an MoU with the National Centre of Additive Manufacturing to be incubated in 2023. It plans to grow its R&D and manufacturing footprint in 2024 and collaborate with a Hyderabad-based motor manufacturer under the ‘India-UK Collaborative R&D for industrial sustainability’ funding programme.
Mr. Rao also met Virendra Sharma, Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom and Rajesh Agrawal, Deputy Mayor of London for Business, in London. They discussed various opportunities to promote bilateral trade relations and investments. In a letter to Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao, Mr. Sharma had said the installation of B .R. Ambedkar statue in Hyderabad was a great achievement.
