Monday saw Lord Bilimoria share his thoughts about the growth opportunities for beer in India in an article for Indian news magazine, Indian Outlook. The piece identified the substantial discrepancy between the consumption of beer and spirits in India, despite the recent rise in popularity of beer in the country, and made the case for reforming the taxation rates in India so that they better reflect the alcoholic potency of the products being sold and help to reduce the health and social problems associated with easily available cheap liquor.
Lord Bilimoria, Chancellor of the University of Birmingham, recently spoke about the need to invest in higher education in the UK in an article for the Telegraph. He stressed the discrepancy in funding received by US universities, compared to their UK counterparts, and argued that the neglect of Britain’s universities has contributed to the productivity gap currently facing the UK.
It was recently announced that Lord Bilimoria will succeed his long standing friend and colleague, Baroness Prashar, as President of the UK Council for International Students (UKCISA), the UK’s national advisory body for international students.
Speaking about the appointment, Lord Bilimoria noted the excellence of the UK’s universities on the world stage and praised the significant contribution that international students provide to our economy and to Britain’s society as a whole. As a previous international student to the UK, Lord Bilimoria is certainly well placed to represent the concerns of students travelling from abroad and he has vowed to represent all international students to the best of his ability.
On 3rd July, Lord Bilimoria was invited to be the Chief Guest Speaker at the Annual India Link Awards. He spoke about India-British relations and their smart power on the world stage, and his comprehensive speech (a transcript of which is available below) was extremely well received by all those present.
To cap off a wonderful night, Lord Bilimoria was also awarded with the India Link International Indian of the Year Award 2014-15, which recognised his significant achievements in the business and education sectors.
Following the spectacular scenes in Delhi last Sunday, where the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, led the largest Yoga demonstration in a single venue in history, Lord Bilimoria today led the First Annual UN International Yoga Day Celebrations in the UK Parliament to demonstrate the benefits of the ancient practice.
A number of MPs and Peers took part in the event, including the former Defence Secretary, Lord King of Bridgwater, former Managing Director of Marks and Spencer, Lord Stone, former surgeon and professor, Lord McColl of Dulwich, Virendra Sharma MP, Chairman of the Indo-British All Party Parliamentary Group, and Bob Blackman MP, Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Group for British Hindus.
The event saw Yoga teachers from around the country discuss the history of the discipline and deliver demonstrations on meditation and mindfulness, breathing exercises, and office yoga.
Lord Bilimoria recently shared his thoughts about the aftermath of the 2015 General Election and a reluctance to celebrate British achievements in an article published in the Telegraph. In the feature he hailed the stable business conditions created by the election result and argued for the new wholly Conservative government to take decisive action to tackle the decline in the UK’s productivity, while continuing to reduce the nation’s deficit.
In an article in the Telegraph, Lord Bilimoria raised concerns about the incoherent and unambitious vision promoted by Ed Miliband and the Labour party in the run up to the 2015 General Election. In the piece he hit out at Ed Miliband’s anti-business message and asked the Labour party to put forth a genuine, and economically credible, alternative to Britain’s future.
Lord Bilimoria recently spoke to the New Statesman about the Conservative party’s immigration policies and the business credibility of the Labour party in the run up to the 2015 General Election.
In the article, he put forward the case for implementing a coherent immigration policy that encouraged bright students to remain in the UK and explained the reasons why he is optimistic about Britain’s future.
Lord Bilimoria praised the recent unveiling of the Mahatma Gandhi statue on Parliament Square. As a member of the Mahatma Gandhi Statue Special Advisory Panel, and the Founding Chairman of the UK-India Business Council, Lord Bilimoria explains the importance of recognising the man who rose above his diminutive stature to become one of the most influential leaders of the 20th century in an article for Total Politics.
Lord Bilimoria today wrote the following letter to the leading financial newspaper, City AM, critiquing the Home Secretary’s proposals to expel foreign students from the United Kingdom upon the immediate conclusion of their studies.
As former international student himself, Lord Bilimoria remains a vocal support of the rights of people to study in at British universities, as well as being allowed to remain and work in the country after graduation.