British Council India has launched a report, titled “City Insights: An introduction to the characteristics and opportunities of six Indian cities” at the SIEM Annual conference at Belfast Waterfront, Belfast, Northern Ireland on Dec 8, 2016

This report provides insights into the economic, education and entrepreneurship trends of six Indian cities - Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh, Hyderabad and Pune. These Indian cities are all powerhouses in their regions and wield a combination of economic and political authority within these spaces. Each has a unique aspect that affords it a competitive edge, depending on the attributes of the collaborator.

While this report finds that the interest to study in the UK has declined, there is still a strong community of students who are interested in both undergraduate and postgraduate studies. In addition, UK institutes could engage with a local focus at the city and university level to bring systemic reforms, and develop institutional partnerships in mobility, research and entrepreneurship.

All the cities offer strong possibilities to engage with start-up and incubation centres housed in the city universities.

The report also captures the core of India’s ‘Smart City’ initiative that seeks to improve urban life in these cities and is one of the strategic priorities of the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi.  UK institutes could engage with the Smart Cities Mission as knowledge partners and consultants or as investment partners to help create more economically viable cities through creation of value for capital flow.