The current first half of 2025 has brought exciting times for North England, especially for the Greater Manchester region. Rahul Laud reports on the new Indian consulate opened in Manchester, direct flight to Mumbai from Manchester, the global premiere of Come Fall in Love based on the iconic Hindi film, DDLJ, huge investment by RPS Goenka group in LCC and more…
“Celebrating Greater Manchester–India Connections” at Emirates Old Trafford witnessed the region’s key stakeholders come together to highlight and strengthen the important ties between Greater Manchester and India across trade, innovation, sport, culture, academia, and more. Business Growth Hub, Marketing Manchester, MIDAS, Manchester India Partnership(MIP), Manchester Airport Group, and Emirates Old Trafford (Lancashire County Cricket Club) had partnered to make this celebration possible. The 1864 Suite, at Emirates Old Trafford, Lancashire Cricket Club, was buzzing with insightful, thoughtful contributions by various speakers.
Cllr Bev Craig – Leader, Manchester City Council; Economy, Business and International Portfolio Lead, Greater Manchester Combined Authority pointed out “ The event was building a momentum towards Greater Manchester’s Trade Mission to India in Autumn 2026.”
Harjinder Kang – HM’s Trade Commissioner for South Asia & British Deputy High Commissioner for Western India, who was earlier the UK’s Chief Negotiator with India was optimistic with the Free Trade Agreement currently signed. He was confident that the £43bn trade deal between the two nations was slated to increase.
Vishakha Yaduvanshi, Manchester’s Consul General of India, on both occasions at the launch of the direct flight as well as at the business meeting, said, “The launch of IndiGo’s direct flight between Manchester and Mumbai represents a major step forward in enhancing connectivity between India and the North of England. By cutting travel times and eliminating the need for connecting flights, it opens the door to stronger economic partnerships, deeper educational ties, and richer cultural exchanges.” She also touched upon the “mango diplomacy” as this fruit from India – a hot favourite in the UK will now reach Manchester faster than before. With focused growth in health, pharma, and green energy sectors, coupled with geopolitical stability, India was on a growth path. With six Universities newly opened in India from the UK represented the North region, which was a significant development.
Simon Arora – Co-Chair, Manchester India Partnership, was present and Jo Ahmed MBE – Practice Senior Partner, Deloitte and Co-Chair, Manchester India Partnership also led their firm support and actively participated at the event. Jo moderated the Panel that discussed Building the Next Phase of GM–India Economic Ties with Prabhjinder Bedi – Tech Mahindra, Jo Purves – University of Salford, Sameer Kothari – Health Innovation Manchester.
Adam Jupp – Director Communications at Manchester Airport Group aptly led the discussion related to Beyond Boundaries: Uniting GM & India through Sport, Culture & Tourism. The panel included Dame Sarah Storey – Lancashire Cricket Club/GMCA, Ciaron Wilkinson – Manchester Museum, Robin Hawkes – Manchester Palace & Opera House. Robin shared the experience of the global premiere of Come Fall in Love held in Manchester. This grand musical is based on the iconic Hindi film Dil Wale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, which is 30 years old yet still fresh in people’s minds. Rani Mukherjee, actress wife of Aditya Chopra, director of DDLJ, was present at the premiere, accompanied by Vishal Dadlani and Shekhar Rajwani, music directors of the musical.
Joe Manning, Managing Director at MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency, while thanking his colleagues, Consultant Ghanshyam Nabar and Audrey Peers, said: “IndiGo launching their debut European service from Manchester is a fantastic endorsement of our city-region. For India’s leading carrier to select us for their first long-haul expansion demonstrates real confidence in the North West’s potential. “With the UK-India free trade agreement and the new Indian Consulate in Greater Manchester, we’re ideally placed to attract Indian investment and generate employment across our key growth sectors with the new direct route,” Manning added. Nabar, who is very active in the UK–India corridor, was instrumental in bringing the right audience to the celebration and at the direct flight launch party added the Indian touch by arranging the traditional ceremonial lamp and the flower decoration (Indian Rangoli) at the venue.
In his closing remarks, Daniel Gidney – CEO, Lancashire County Cricket Club, stated, “Lancashire Cricket and RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group (RPSG) have entered into an exclusivity period following its success in the team auction held by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB). RPSG is one of India’s fastest-growing conglomerates and owns Lucknow SuperGiants in the Indian Premier League (IPL) and Durban’s SuperGiants in the South African T20. RPSG Group has agreed to purchase a 70% stake in Manchester Originals. Lancashire Cricket Club owns the remaining 30%. The investment will also provide Lancashire with additional funds, which it will look to invest in cricket infrastructure projects and at Emirates Old Trafford to enhance the fan and member experience.
The new route between Manchester Airport and Mumbai – India’s financial capital – will deliver an economic boost worth hundreds of millions to the North of England over the next three years, research reveals. Lucie Hinton, Head of Aviation Business Development at Manchester Airport, believes that this route will boost the economy by hundreds of millions through trade, tourism, jobs and innovation. The new IndiGo service – the North’s only direct, year-round route to India – is likely to support a £32.9m increase in exports from the region to the world’s fastest-growing economy a year. The study, from independent experts Metro-Dynamics, also shows an extra £11.8m a year will be spent by additional Indian visitors to the region as a result of the new three-times-a-week service. Around 250 jobs – including direct, supply chain and wider supporting roles – will be created by the route, which will create £12.1m of economic value for the North a year. Findings suggest direct connectivity will also support international innovation, stimulating a rise in UK-India patents and academic citations.
Manchester Airport Managing Director Chris Woodroofe said: “Cost, time and productivity savings worth £9m a year will be unlocked.” The new route will bring massive benefits for our tourism industry, the education sector, and will help turbocharge the Government’s industrial strategy by boosting innovation and productivity in the sectors that will sit at the heart of the country’s future prosperity. “Here are already around 234,000 people who travel from Manchester Airport’s catchment to Mumbai every year. Roughly 70,000 of them flew through Manchester, but indirectly. It is estimated that the new route will increase the overall number of people who travel between Manchester and Mumbai by 21,000 per year.
The Manchester airport began with an ambitious £1.3bn, decade-long transformation programme. Now reaching its final stages, the programme has seen the opening of the airport’s brand-new Terminal 2, from where Indigo direct flights depart. From next year, the airport’s main hub will serve around 70% of its passengers. The new super-terminal has already won the prestigious Prix Versailles for architecture and design, even before it is fully open.
