Photo of Mr Russell and Sunil Kant MunjalDAY 1 – DELHI

It was still dark as we landed in Delhi this morning – the plane arrived at 5.20am, but as the time zone is five and a half hours ahead , we were all a bit groggy after something like (for me from home in Argyll at least ) 17 hours of travelling. Dawn was rising but even in the half and rather misty light it was clear that there have been big changes since I was last here  just over two years ago. For example the metro and the new stadium are visible reminders of  the successful  Commonwealth Games, which was attended by Shona Robison, the Sports Minister and the First Minister, who took the baton on to Glasgow.

In the early afternoon three of the SDI (Scottish Development International) staff helped me to catch up on their current activity  in Scotland and India. The latter includes some very positive and growing collaborations between Scottish Universities and their Indian counterparts. Almost all of our HE institutions are now involved here and at least 5 of our colleges are also active.

The potential is great. We already attract  a considerable number of Indian students but in the country itself there remains massive unmet demand.

For example there is a target of 50 million skills places needed by 2020, yet at present only 3.5 million exist. 12% of young people go to University but in order to raise that to the target of 30% something like 800 new universities are going to be needed.
 
Scotland has a global reputation for educational excellence - not least because we have 5 of the world’s top 200 universities, making us the world’s number one  nation with most world class education per head of population. But we have much still to learn and we can only do so in collaboration with others who are also ambitious. We need to go out into the world because we are small. India is out in the world because of its huge potential and huge demand. Those contrasting facts present real opportunities for both sides.
   
The  discussion also covered the work SDI are involved in across key growth sectors in India such as food and drink, financial services and ICT where Scotland and India  also have much to share in experience and expertise. Particularly heartening is the fact that the number of Scottish companies looking for information on investing in India has grown over the last year and many Indian companies are continuing to look to Scotland for acquisition or growth.  

After a meeting with the SQA delegation who are here for the FICCI Higher Education Summit (of which more later) and with whom I will be visiting the Guatam Buddha University in Greater Noida tomorrow, I then met with Mr Sunil Kant Munjal who is the Joint Managing Director of Hero MotoCorp Ltd.
   
Hero is the largest Indian inward investor to Scotland and I had met Mr Munjal on my previous official visit. His company own, amongst other investments, TSC the contact centre business which has bases in my own constituency in Dunoon and Rothesay but our discussion was wide ranging and was particularly focussed on education. Hero is establishing a University in India and undertakes extensive training, including through its own training company. We established a number of connections which can be taken forward.

I am now writing this after dark – dusk comes quickly in India but the sound of motor horns goes on most of the day. I can hear  them outside the hotel but as I have more sleep to catch up on, I don’t think they will keep me awake !

Michael Russell,
Cabinet Secretary for Education and Lifelong Learning

 

India Visit 2011
Daily updates on the ScotIndia page as well as via the @EngageForEd twitter (hashtag #ScotIndia11).

Background: India Visit 2011 – Strengthening Scottish Links.