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Saturday, 6 January, 2001, 04:38 GMT Britain seeks IT expertise in India

India's IT sector is top of the list By Jill McGivering in Delhi

UK Trade and Industry Secretary Stephen Byers is beginning a six-day official visit to India.

Travelling with a UK business delegation, he's trying to promote trade ties between the two countries.

One aim will be to attract Indian IT expertise to the UK and encourage more economic reforms in India, which could benefit British companies in the long-term.

The economic relationship between India and Britain is already on a firm footing - Britain is India's second-largest trading partner and largest foreign investor.

But as the recent flurry of ministerial visits has shown, both sides are working hard at the moment to boost the figures.

Dramatic reminder

In the next six days, Mr Byers will meet senior ministers to talk through some of the problems British investors face in India, from unwieldy Indian bureaucracy to the slow pace of economic liberalisation.

He'll also be trying to woo Indian companies who might invest in Britain.

The IT sector is top of the list - Indian computer experts are in strong demand world-wide and now account for more than half of Indian businesses being set up in the UK.

Mr Byers will also be pressing for more reform, in such sectors as power and telecommunications.

Earlier this week, a complete failure of India's Northern grid left more than 220 million people without electricity for a whole day, causing great loss to businesses, as well as general chaos.

Some people saw this as the most dramatic reminder yet that India's state-run power system is now struggling to meet demand.

As the Indian Government looks at possible solutions to its rapidly- growing need for energy, many UK multi-nationals are keen to be part of the debate.

-- Rachel Gibson (rgibson@hotmail.com), January 06, 2001