- The CBI chevron_right
- Sterling access 2020 review: improving market access for UK businesses in India
Sterling access 2020 review: improving market access for UK businesses in India
This year's report tracks progress on key market access barriers affecting UK companies and provides a new set of recommendations.
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 and tracks progress on market access barriers affecting UK companies.
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 roundtable discussions and one-to-one interviews with CBI members.
These states include:
- Maharashtra
- National Capital Region
- Karnataka
- West Bengal
- Tamil Nadu
What does the report recommend?
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.