Connecting Businesses across India
By Kealan Finnegan
Mark Runacres, the BBG Delhi Secretary explains the crucial role the British Business Groups (BBGs) play in India.
It is a testament to depth and complexity of the UK/India relationship that for most of India’s 68 years, there has been no bilateral “Business Chamber” between the two countries. Of course many of the UK’s big companies have been in India for a long time – some since before Independence. But it was this very longevity which meant that these companies did not previously feel the need for a more formal structure.
Under Prime Minister John Major’s leadership when he visited India following the 1991 reforms ushered in by the Narasimha Rao Government, the “Indo-British Partnership” was launched. This aimed to provide a platform for business but was not business-led: on the British side the partner was the then Department of Trade and Industry, and on the Indian side, the Confederation of Indian Industry were given the lead by the Indian Government. The author had the privilege of being the Executive Director of the “IBP” in 1997/98.
This highly successful initiative nonetheless left British business in India without its own rallying point and so it was that in the mid-’90s, as UK business grew following the reforms, groups of businesses in Delhi and Mumbai decided to set up their own “clubs”, known as the British Business Groups.
Although there was early thought that these BBGs should come under a national umbrella, the volunteer status of the leadership meant that there wasn’t really the capacity to evolve the necessary infrastructure and the BBGs flourished as models of light bureaucracy. To this day, the BBGs benefit from that lightness of touch, with immensely hard-working volunteer Committees supported by, at most, a single member secretariat – often a revelation to our partners and friends who tend to have the impression of there being a much bigger BBG “Machine” – not unreasonably given the scale of BBG activity!
As the 21st century progressed the “BBG model” began to spread as British business engagement evolved outside the two big metros. Ahmedabad and Pune were first – and some BBGs have come and gone, but we now have strong BBGs in Chennai, Goa, Hyderabad and Bangalore too. The key was always for there to be a local business leadership which was willing to take on the inevitable workload, often with a real sense of duty, but always with a very close knowledge of what the “market” wanted: so it is that each BBG is different, with different types of activities reflecting the different memberships and markets. UKTI support has been critical in helping get the Groups off the ground, and work is now in hand to see if Groups can come up in Kolkata and Chandigarh.
Two closing thoughts:
– One of the BBGs’ strengths is their inclusion of British and Indian business – without that two way street, they risk being little more than social clubs;
– The BBGs’ unparalleled strength is the network they offer. This is precisely why the ‘National Meets’ grew up, originally proposed and hosted by the remarkable Beryl Nasse in Goa, and now a firm feature of the annual calendar.
