The Modi charm: Nick Clegg says wall of money waiting to enter India

It seems Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s charms have rubbed off on the UK government. UK’s Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg today said that India’s infrstructure and defence is ripe for investment and a wall of money is waiting to enter the country.

“For India, the opportunity is huge,” Clegg said in an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, pointing out that Britain is already the largest investor in India among the G-20 nations.

The British Deputy PM said that Indian’s new Prime Minister Narendra Modi is keen on unlocking dynamics of the Indian economy, and that is why it’s the best time for investment.

The three-day visit by a 40-strong delegation is the latest in a series of similar trips by David Cameron’s government, which is keen to foster closer links with the government.

Clegg’s office said the trip will “take advantage of the opportunities presented by the new Indian government’s focus on economic growth” since Modi swept to a landslide victory on a platform of economic reform in May.

He is likely to announce a series of mega investments during his trade mission. A number of new tie-ups between British and Indian scientists, from health research to predicting the weather, are also due to be signed next week.

Besides meetings with Modi and senior Cabinet minister Arun Jaitley, the leader of the UK coalition partner Liberal Democrats will announce four projects that have won a share of over 2 million pound funding from the UK’s Technology Strategy Board and the Indian Department of Science and Technology to create new commercial technology in the health and energy sectors.

With inputs from Agencies