On Monday 1st April 2014 the Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) hosted a celebration of Jamsheedi Nowruz – Zoroastrian Iranian Spring New Year in the Houses of Parliament. The event was the second official event to be held by the Zoroastrian All Party Parliamentary Group, which was formed last October by Lord Bilimoria and Gareth Thomas MP to celebrate the work and history of the Zoroastrian community within the United Kingdom and abroad. Almost half of the audience present were representatives from interfaith communities in the United Kingdom.
Lord Bilimoria participated in a major debate on Scottish independence, which was moved by the former Scottish Secretary, Lord Lang of Monkton. In his speech – Lord Bilimoria noted the tremendous benefits and potential that comes from the historic Union between England and Scotland, as well as the fiscal risks associated with the proposals for an independent Scotland to become part of the Stirling Zone;
Following on from David Cameron’s trade delegation to India in February 2013, Amarjit Singh, head of the India Business Group at Dutton Gregory Solicitors, interviewed Lord Bilimoria, about the follow up work taking place in the UK and in India. In the two videos below, Lord Bilimoria speaks about the best way to promote Anglo-Indian trade and business links – as well as advising UK small and medium-sized enterprises about the benefits deciding the enter the Indian market.
Lord Bilimoria was the interviewee on “Walk the Talk” on NDTV, one of the leading commercial broadcasters in India. During the discussion, he spoke extensively about his career as a businessman, entrepreneur and politician, as well as about his life at home and abroad.
My Lords, when I came to this country from India in the early 1980s, entrepreneurship had the image of Del Boy and second-hand car salesmen. There was a glass ceiling. Today, everything has changed. Entrepreneurship is cool, and I believe that we have a society where anyone can get anywhere, regardless of race, religion or background. Yet business still has such a bad image. We have executive pay. The noble Lord, Lord Sacks, spoke about the noble Lord, Lord Sugar. We have the “Apprentice” image of “You’re fired”. We also have the financial crisis and bankers. I thank the noble Lord, Lord Sacks, for initiating this debate.