Union Cabinet: MoU between India and UK in ICT approved

November 4, 2020

On November 4, 2020, the Union Cabinet chaired by PM Modi approved the Memorandum of Understanding signed between India and UK. The MoU was signed in the field of Information Communication Technologies and Telecommunications.

Key Highlights

The MoU was signed between Department of Digital, Media and sports of UK Government and Ministry of Communications of India. It will strengthen bilateral cooperation between the countries in the field of telecommunications. The following areas of cooperation were identified

Spectrum Management
ICT regulation
Telecommunication standardisation, testing and certification
Wireless communication
Security in the use of telecommunication
Building capacity in exchange of expertise
Exploring opportunities in third countries in the field of telecommunications
Facilitating trade and investment in ICT through visits, exhibitions and other events.
Technological Development in Internet of Things, Cloud Computing, Big Data, etc.

Why is the MoU important?

The MoU is focusing on things that are already being under agenda of cooperation between the countries. Still, the MoU gains importance as it aims for post Brexit scope of opportunities in India. The policies and approaches of UK is different post Brexit and so are its terms and conditions while signing an agreement with a foreign country.

The UK had been pushing India to sign a bilateral Trading agreement ever since the Brexit negotiations between UK and European Union began. However, India has been resisting and wanted UK to complete the Brexit process. Thus, these agreements have greater significance.

India-UK

Among the G20 countries, UK is one of the largest investors in India. In 2019-20, the bilateral trade between the countries was at 15.5 billion USD. Also, UK is a significant partner of India in terms of FDI after Mauritius and Singapore. Mauritius and Singapore rank first and second in terms of FDI respectively.

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