India And United Kingdom Will Launch Young Professionals Scheme Next Month

The Young Professionals Scheme, which will be launched by India and the U.K. next month, will let degree-holding Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 live and work in Britain for up to two years.

After the 15th India-UK Foreign Office Consultations held here, the Ministry of External Affairs announced that the Scheme would be introduced on February 28.

The British delegation was led by Philip Barton, Permanent Under-Secretary, Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, with Foreign Secretary Vinay Mohan Kwatra representing India. Barton also spoke with S. Jaishankar, the minister of external affairs.

After meeting Barton, Jaishankar posted on Twitter, "Discussed our expanding bilateral relationship, including progress under our Roadmap 2030 and global issues,"

According to a statement from the UK government, Barton  "I am delighted to be here in New Delhi, at the start of 2023, to underline the U.K.'s commitment to the 2030 Roadmap for deepening cooperation with India. Through our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, the U.K. and India are together playing a key role in tackling the biggest challenges facing the world today, including food and energy security, economic recovery post-Covid and preventing future pandemics."

He added that the United Kingdom and India are collaborating more frequently on a multilateral basis, including with the World Health Organization and the larger international community, to develop potential vaccines for ebola and malaria.

"I was pleased to hear from Foreign Secretary Kwatra about India's ambitious plans for its G20 Presidency. India is at the heart of the Indo-Pacific region, where half the world's people live and 50% of global economic growth is produced. The U.K. is committed to working closely with India in making its Presidency a success," he continued.

Barton and Kwatra expressed their appreciation for the exchange of the letters formalising the Young Professional Scheme during Pravasi Bharatiya Divas on January 9 in London during the FOC.

The U.K.-India Young Professionals Scheme will provide 3,000 places per year for degree-educated Indian citizens between the ages of 18 and 30 to come to the U.K. and live and work there for up to two years.

Due to the reciprocal nature of the program, UK professionals in a similar situation will also be able to take part by relocating to and working in India.

According to U.K. Home Office statistics, India overtook China as the top source country for student visas issued by the U.K. in the 12 months ending June 2022.

According to the MEA statement, with the adoption of the Roadmap 2030 for Future Relations, India and the U.K. share a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.

Despite the restrictions imposed by the Covid pandemic, the FOC provided an opportunity to review the progress made in the implementation of Roadmap 2030, it was added.

According to the statement, both sides spoke about topics including trade and economic cooperation, defense and security, science and technology, inter-group relations, health, and climate change.

According to the statement, both India and the U.K. hope to quickly complete a fair and comprehensive India-U.K. free trade agreement (FTA), which could increase economic cooperation between the fifth and sixth largest economies in the world.

The Indo-Pacific, Afghanistan, Ukraine, the Commonwealth, and the United Nations were among the regional and international topics of discussion between the two sides, according to the statement.

The U.K. reiterated its support for UNSC reforms and acknowledged India's contribution to the UN Security Council in 2021–2022.

In addition, Britain applauded India's priorities in leading the G20 this year as it anticipated its participation.

According to the statement, both parties agreed to keep up frequent communications at the political and senior official levels and hold the following FOC in London in 2024.