PTI LONDON

The UK's capital city has unveiled an ambitious new 'Growth Plan' to provide an estimated 27 billion pounds extra tax revenue to fund vital public services in London and across the country, with India pegged as its number one source market in terms of foreign direct investment.

The plan, unveiled recently by Mayor of London Sadiq Khan along with growth agency London & Partners, aims to restore productivity growth to an average of 2 per cent a year in the next decade, which is hoped would make London's economy 107 billion pounds larger by 2035.  

India has been on a growth curve for the last three years, overtaking the US as London's single-largest FDI source market in 2022-23 and continuing through 2023-24. “Foreign direct investment from India has been the fastest growing and has been our number one market for the last two years," said Laura Citron, CEO of London & Partners.

“So, it's Indian tech companies setting up operations in London. Equally, if we look at it as a student market, post-Brexit, India has really rapidly grown as a student market.  It's now the number two source market for London after China. It's also a fast-growing tourism market for London; India is just a really critical, top market for London," she said. 

According to official data for 2023-24, London played host to 38,625 Indian students, reflecting a steep growth curve over the past 10 years with the country's share of all international students in London increasing from under 5 per cent to over 20 per cent. 

"It is positive that London's quantity of Indian students has increased in the past decade, with Indian students now accounting for over 20 per cent of international students enrolled at a London university," said Mark Hertlien, Head of Global Engagement at City St George's University and Chair of the International Network at London Higher, the city's advocate for higher education. "At City St George's the number of Indian students joining us has doubled over recent years. They become lifelong ambassadors of our capital city and create lasting and powerful bridges between our nations," he said.