By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JULY 11, 2018: MINISTER for Law & Justice Ravi Shankar Prasad visited United Kingdom last week at the invitation of Mr. David Gauke, Secretary of State for Justice, UK. The two Ministers discussed taking forward the exchange of legal practitioners on the basis of reciprocity in accordance with the prevailing legal provisions in their respective countries. The two Ministers later signed a MoU for enhancing bilateral cooperation in legal affairs which provides a framework for promoting greater co-operation between the judicial and legal professionals in both countries through exchange of expertise and training; exchanging information regarding current issues of international significance. The MoU also provides for establishment of a Joint Consultative Committee to facilitate such exchange.

Mr. Prasad informed his counterpart about the progress made in India in the field of ensuring access to justice for all, particularly using the power of technology through initiatives like Tele-Law, e-Court services and digitization of Courts in India. The two ministers reiterated their commitment to deepening bilateral cooperation in legal matters, including Arbitration, Legal training and exchange of best practices, taking advantage of the shared common law heritage of the two countries.

IT Minister also met Mr.Jermy Wright, the newly appointed Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sports. Mr. Prasad pointed out the tremendous opportunities which have opened up due to the rapid growth of the digital profile and digital penetration of India due to the inclusive adaptation of digital technology in India and asked the UK Minister to encourage UK IT firms to take advantage of such openings by investing in India.

Earlier, Minister chaired a Round Table of leading Indian and UK IT firms jointly organised by NASSCOM with its counterpart TechUK. Representatives from Indian IT companies such as Wipro, Infosys, TCS etc. as well as UK companies such as WNS, First Source, BBC, NTT, etc. attended the event. The Minister appreciated the tremendous interest shown by UK companies in India's digital story and listed out some of the key areas such as skill enhancement, Fintech, emerging technologies such as AI and Cyber Security as the possible areas of growth, where UK IT firms could leverage the growth potential and size of India's growing digital economy, which is expected to reach the size of a trillion dollar in the next few years for their own growth.

Mr. Prasad also addressed a gathering of leading Indian and UK professionals at the prestigious Asia House, highlighting the digital opportunities that exist in India. The Minister also delivered a talk to a gathering of top legal experts and representatives from leading UK Law firms at an event organized by the Law Society of UK and Wales where he spoke about the investment opportunities that had emerged in India in a range of sectors due to the far reaching and bold reforms undertaken by the present Government