Sterling access: 2020 review

The UK and India, much like the rest of the world, are currently striving to adapt and respond to the biggest disruptor in our time, the pandemic COVID-19. The second quarter of 2020 experienced unforeseen contractions in both economies with India at -23.9% and the UK at -20.4%.

Despite this significant economic impact, the central and state governments have pressed ahead with their resolve to improve the ease of doing business. There have been significant progress on last year’s CBI-EY Sterling access recommendations.

The CBI-EY Sterling access – 2020 review has revisited the CBI’s seven key recommendations to the government of India and tracked progress against each.

How progress was tracked

The CBI in partnership with EY interacted with key government officials in select Indian states where UK companies are located. This was done with support from the British Deputy High Commissions in virtual round table discussions and one-to-one interviews with our members.

These states include

• Maharashtra
• National Capital Region
• Karnataka
• West Bengal
• Tamil Nadu

The key recommendations come under three headings in the report:

• Reform: Tracking progress on the seven key recommendations from last year's report, substantial movement has been made in streamlining the number of regulators, as well as shift towards risk-adjusted inspection requirements (risk-based inspections) and labour reforms.
  
  
• Renew: With direct feedback from members, the CBI recommends three measures to improve the attractiveness of India’s market for British businesses.

• Reset: As India resets its global economic ambitions, the CBI lists six recommendations on how it can become self-reliant (Atmanirbhar Bharat) and a part of the global supply chain.

The benefits of the UK-India partnership are clear: new jobs, economic growth and new avenues to co-create and co-innovate. This report outlines recommendations to make this partnership even stronger.