UK Indo-Pacific Minister Seema Malhotra Arrives in India to Boost Ties Under Vision 2035

UK Minister for the Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra arrived in India on Thursday for her first official visit since assuming office, aiming to build on the momentum of the recently signed UK-India Free Trade Agreement (FTA), according to the British High Commission.

In Bengaluru, the Minister will confirm that the British Council’s Women in STEM Scholarship programme will return to South Asia, with 10 new scholarships worth £400,000.

The Minister's three-day visit is a reflection of the revitalised UK-India partnership, under the joint UK-India Vision 2035. The revitalised partnership will unlock new opportunities for bilateral trade and investment to thrive, strengthen our defence cooperation to keep our people safe, and nurture the next generation of global talent.

The Minister is also expected to launch a second visa fraud campaign in Tamil Nadu, where she will see how joint UK-India efforts are helping to protect Indian families from exploitation.

The deal is projected to boost UK GDP by £4.8 billion annually, raise wages by £2.2 billion, and increase bilateral trade by £25.5 billion.

The Minister will build on the success of the UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s recent trade mission to India, meeting with British businesses succeeding in Chennai and Bengaluru – including Tesco, Revolut, and BT – to hear how the UK-India FTA is helping them grow and bring investment back to the UK.

Minister for the Indo-Pacific Seema Malhotra said: "As a UK Minister of Indian descent, I am delighted to be visiting India so early since my appointment as UK Minister for Indo-Pacific. It is a reflection of the importance of India to the UK and a testament to a transformative year in UK-India relations."

“Our joint UK-India Vision 2035 has the landmark free trade agreement at its core. During my visit, I will see the impact of our revitalised partnership: creating thousands of jobs, driving innovation, and delivering investment in both our countries.”

In Bengaluru, the Minister will confirm that the British Council’s Women in STEM Scholarship programme will return to South Asia and India after a gap of one year.

These scholarships provide full funding—currently worth at least £40,000—for one-year master’s degrees at leading UK universities, covering tuition, living costs, travel, and health insurance. This year, 10 scholarships will be reserved for South Asia, worth £400,000, with applications for the 2026–27 academic year opening in January.

The Minister will hold bilateral meetings with Karnataka State Industries Minister, M. B. Patil, and Karnataka Higher Education Minister, Dr. M. C. Sudhakar, to discuss advanced manufacturing, research, and skills collaboration.

She will meet Tamil Nadu’s Minister for Industries, Investment Promotion and Commerce, Dr. T. R. B. Rajaa, to discuss opportunities in advanced manufacturing, green technologies, innovation-driven investments, and skill development for future-ready industries.

The Minister will also see how joint UK and India efforts are raising awareness of visa fraud in hotspot regions, helping to protect families from exploitation and reduce the number of illegal entrants into the UK.

In Chennai, she is expected to expand the UK’s campaign to tackle visa fraud in India to Tamil Nadu. The campaign will aim to reduce the number of people travelling to Britain on fake visas, with the UK and India cooperating to protect people from scams and tackle illegal migration at its source.

The new campaign follows a successful pilot already underway in the Punjab region in northern India. It will include targeted outreach in high-risk areas, plus a Tamil-language WhatsApp chatbot to help Indian nationals identify visa scams and avoid fraudulent agents.