In 1690, Thomas ‘Diamond’ Pitt led an opulent delegation of the
East India Company’s Madras factors, bearing their wares, to the Nawab of the Carnatic, the richest man in southern India, with the intention of buying him out. They succeeded, but Pitt
had nothing on David Cameron’s delegation. Six cabinet ministers, more than 10 CEOs and God knows how many diplomats are accompanying the Prime Minister. The only person missing is Nick
– but that sort of thing is frowned upon by Delhi’s Edwardianly genteel political classes.
As I wrote yesterday, pageantry titillates commercial diplomacy, and Cameron is staking everything on this mission. As the Independent reported yesterday, current Anglo-Indian bilateral trade is worth a little more £11bn a year. That is a very small figure. The Indian consumer market is worth £227bn; it is set to rise to £352bn by 2014. The opportunities for Tesco and Arcadia (hell even Milletts) are vast. But it is Wall-Mart’s opportunity too, and America’s trade with India is three times the size of ours.
Cameron will want to open the Indian market on retail, housing and tax; but open markets work both ways, and the Indians are wary of the government’s cap on non-EU migration.
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