Comment & Analysis
Chancellor George Osborne and Foreign Secretary William Hague have recently met with newly elected Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the hope of boosting trade and commercial relations between India and Britain.
India, which has seen significant growth over the last two decades, has announced two new trade deals between the India and the UK in the form of investment projects in both defence and engineering technology sectors. This new deal is aiming to help bring India more cutting-edge technology and specialist skills, allowing it to continue along its path to becoming a major world economy.
India has long been noted as investing heavily in the engineering sector and in particular in mechanical engineering. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers (India) is one of the oldest professional institutions. Established in 1914 to “promote, advance and update knowledge”, the institution works closely with the UK's IMechE to advance and develop the practice of mechanical engineering.
In October of this year, IMechE members will have the opportunity to visit the institution's India headquarters in Delhi as part of a mechanical engineering tour run by Jon Baines Tours. On the visit, delegates will hear a talk on the state of engineering and education in India encompassing subjects such as: automotive and rail engineering, shipbuilding, the Delhi Metro, food processing and innovative and small scale engineering and manufacturing.
Delegates will have the opportunity to hear a specialist talk on India’s engineering heritage both past and present during a visit to the Institution of Engineers based in Kolkata, before visiting one of India’s leading shipyards, the Garden Reach Shipbuilders. In Delhi, there will be a visit to Delhi Metro Museum to learn about the challenges undertaken in building the Delhi Metro as well as a visit to an automotive factory and a nearby coal based power plant in Faridabad to learn about power generation. On the tour there is a range of unusual professional site visits including a trip to the Jaipur Foot, a project that builds and supplies prosthetic limbs free of charge to poor people and the town of Rewari, home to the Fairy Queen, the oldest working steam train in the world.
Amongst a full cultural itinerary that immerses delegates and their partners in the unique and diverse culture of India through visits to the Taj Mahal, Corbusier’s masterpiece city of Chandigarh and the pink city of Jaipur, there is also a full cultural partner programme. On the tour attendees will also visit the summer capital of the Raj, high in the Himalayas, Shimla as well as experience first-hand the feat of engineering that is the Himalayan Queen toy train on a breathtaking journey from Shimla to Chandigarh, before returning to Delhi for a continued cultural exploration of India.
Don’t miss a unique opportunity to experience India’s engineering highlights in a specially tailored tour for members of the Institution. For further information please visit
www.jonbainestours.co.uk