Boris Johnson India visit highlights: UK PM hopes to clinch Indian free trade deal by year-end

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson in India highlights: On day 1 of his India visit, the UK prime minister is expected to announce investments in science and technology collaborations in Gujarat.

United Kingdom Prime Minister Boris Johnson during his visit to the JCB factory, at Halol GIDC in Panchmahal on Thursday. (ANI)

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Thursday arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to begin his long-pending trip to India that was delayed due to the pandemic. Johnson is on a two-day visit to India during which he will focus on economic ties and the war in Ukraine. ...Read More

Follow all the updates here:

• 21 Apr 2022, 05:56:48 PM IST

  Boris Johnson visits Akshardham Temple in Gandhinagar | WATCH

• 21 Apr 2022, 04:29:16 PM IST

  Boris Johnson and Bhupendra Patel attend a programme at Gujarat Biotechnology University 

• 21 Apr 2022, 03:58:17 PM IST

  Boris Johnson visits JCB factory in Gujarat

• 21 Apr 2022, 03:19:15 PM IST

  UK hopes to clinch Indian free trade deal by year-end, says Johnson

  Britain hopes to complete a free trade deal with India by the end of this year, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday as he emphasised the need to reduce reliance on foreign oil and gas due to the conflict in Ukraine.

  "We're hoping to complete another free trade agreement with India by the end of the year, by the autumn," Reuters quoted Johnson as telling reporters in Gujarat.

• 21 Apr 2022, 03:08:05 PM IST

  'UK MPs' probe into Covid breaches should...': Boris Johnson in India

  British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who is on a two-day India visit, said on Thursday that the UK police should be allowed to complete their investigation into the alleged Covid-19 lockdown breaches in government offices before Parliament launches its own investigation. Read more

• 21 Apr 2022, 01:56:45 PM IST

  Boris Johnson meets Adani Group's chief Gautam Adani in Ahmedabad

• 21 Apr 2022, 12:01:56 PM IST

  Boris Johnson's India visit to seal investment deals worth over £1 billion

  Downing Street had announced it would seal two-way investment deals worth more than £1 billion ($1.3 billion), during Johnson's visit to India, creating almost 11,000 jobs in Britain. The visit will "deepen the strategic trade, defence and people-to-people ties between our two countries", the UK prime minister told parliament before flying out of London. Read full story

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:54:39 AM IST

  ‘Such simple principles of truth and non-violence’: What Johnson wrote after visiting Sabarmati Ashram

  

  Message left by Boris Johnson at the Gandhi Ashram in Sabarmati, Ahmedabad.

  “It is an immense privilege to come to the Ashram of this extraordinary man, and to understand how he mobilised such simple principles of truth and non-violence to change the world for the better," read the message by UK PM Boris Johnson at Gandhi Ashram, Sabarmati, Ahmedabad.

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:42:07 AM IST

  Johnson tries his hands on 'charkha'

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:34:28 AM IST

  UK PM visits Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad

  Johnson visited Mahatma Gandhi's Sabarmati Ashram on Thursday morning. He was accompanied by the Gujarat chief minister and was presented with a copy of 'The Spirit's Pilgrimage' written by Madeleine Slade (or Mirabehn), who was a British supporter of Indian independence and a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi.

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:30:36 AM IST

  Watch | UK PM Boris Johnson gets grand welcome on his arrival in Ahmedabad

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:27:00 AM IST

  Johnson to be gifted Gandhi's unpublished book ‘Guide to London’

  

  Cover of ‘Guide to London’ by Mahatama Gandhi.

  'Guide to London', one of the first few books written by Mahatma Gandhi which never got published will also be gifted to UK PM Boris Johnson by Sabarmati ashram. Read more

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:13:04 AM IST

  UK PM welcomed with roadshow, Gujarati dance

  Boris Johnson was welcomed with a grand roadshow and Gujarati dance along the four-km route from the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel airport to his hotel on his arrival in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. 

• 21 Apr 2022, 10:06:36 AM IST

  Autobiography of Mirabehn to be gifted to Johnson during visit to Sabarmati Ashram

  

  Mirabehn's autobiography

  'The Spirit's Pilgrimage' – the autobiography of Madeleine Slade or Mirabehn, who became the Mahatma Gandhi's disciple, will be gifted to UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson by Sabarmati Ashram during his visit there.

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:48:18 AM IST

  'Partygate' apology

  Johnson's visit (delayed because of Covid) comes after the prime minister issued a 'wholehearted' apology for attending an illegal party during the Covid-19 lockdown in his country. He said he did not knowingly break rules or mislead the British parliament, claiming 'it did not occur to me' that the gathering at his official residence in London was a party. Read full story

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:45:36 AM IST

  Talks on extradition of Vijay Mallya, Nirav Modi?

  While there is nothing official scheduled, India may bring up the issue of the two wanted fugitives - Mallya and Nirav Modi, who owe thousands of crores to Indian banks. Both are in the UK pending extradition; Nirav Modi is in south-west London's Wandsworth Prison and Mallya is also in the UK. Both are contesting their extradition orders.

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:41:35 AM IST

  Day 1 agenda: Focus on science, health and technology

  Johnson will spend day 1 in Gujarat, where he is expected to announce investments and new collaborations in science, health and technology. The UK has said this will be the first time a British prime minister has visited the sprawling coastal state famed for its spirit of entrepreneurship and the ancestral home to about half of the British-Indian population.

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:39:38 AM IST

  UK PM signals visa flexibility with India

  Ahead of his visit, Johnson signalled he is ready to offer more visas to India in return for a free-trade deal after Britain's exit from the European Union, Reuters reported. "I have always been in favour of talented people coming to this country," the UK prime minister said. "We are short to the tune of hundreds of thousands of people in our economy. We need to have a progressive approach and we will."

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:38:22 AM IST

  Boris Johnson to hear India's stand on Ukraine conflict, not give lecture

  The Ukraine crisis will figure in British Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s engagements during his two-day visit though the focus will be on keeping the Indo-Pacific free from coercion and giving a push to a bilateral free trade pact. Read more

• 21 Apr 2022, 09:25:16 AM IST

  Boris Johnson lands in Ahmedabad

  

  UK PM Boris Johnson

  UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson arrives in Ahmedabad, Gujarat. He is on a 2-day visit to India. He was welcomed by Gujarat chief minister Bhupendra Patel at Ahmedabad airport.