Mumbai, February 18
Britain will introduce same-day visa service for Indian businessmen wanting to invest there, Prime Minister David Cameron announced today as he kicked off his three-day visit to India. He sought a “special relationship” between the two countries, saying it was about the future for which “sky is the limit”. Out to woo Indian students, Cameron said there would be no limit on the number of students from here studying in his country.

The British Prime Minister gave a blunt message that he was here to explore business opportunities wherever he can find them. “I am heading the biggest-ever business delegation to leave British shores.... As far as I am concerned, sky is the limit.. it's about business, economy and trade. But it is also about culture, politics, diplomacy. I am bringing with me the Premier League, top universities, museums — we want to tie up in so many different ways with your culture, your companies, your businesses, your people,” Cameron, who heads a 100-member delegation, told an audience comprising top personalities from Mumbai and senior executives and employees of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.

Cameron said he wanted Britain to be India’s partner of choice. “We’ve only just started on the sort of partnership that we could build,” he said.

The British Prime Minister, on his second visit to the country in the past two-and-a-half years, said he was pitching for British companies to participate in India's infrastructure development. He specifically mentioned the Mumbai-Bangalore Industrial Corridor which has been proposed on the lines of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor where nine new cities and towns are proposed to be developed. “With me I’ve got architects, planners and finance experts who can work out the complete solution,” Cameron said.

“It would unleash India’s potential along the 1,000 km from Mumbai to Bangalore, transforming lives and putting British businesses in prime position to secure valuable commercial deals,” he added.

Citing statistics prepared by the British government, Cameron said the Mumbai-Bangalore corridor could contribute 11.8 per cent of India's GDP by 2020. He added that the first phase would see the development of physical infrastructure.