Monday, January 10 2005 14:20 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Britain's apex industry chamber said today (Jan 10, 2005) that the UK's economy gained 16 billion pound sterling through off shoring in 2004 and in future more high-end work would move to India.

"British economy gains 16 billion pound sterling in 2004 because of off shoring and more British companies will outsource work to India for skills that are in short supply in UK," Digby Jones, the Director General of Confederation of British Industries, told newspersons in New Delhi.

For cheap manufacturing British companies would go to China while for high-end manufacturing and services India would be their destination, he said.

"If in 21st century the relationship between India and UK can mean anything, it is ICT (Information and Communication Technology)," Jones said.

He said the British economy was in favour of outsourcing as it frees up people in the UK, who can then concentrate on high-end work.

So far 480 Indian companies have invested in the UK and about 350 of them were IT companies, Jones said.

"The Indian companies that have invested in UK have seen stupendous growth."

The Director-General said trade between India and UK was expanding fast and would get a massive boost with the successful completion of Doha Round of negotiations at World Trade Organisation (WTO) in December this year.

India-UK trade in 2003 stood at six billion pound sterling.

For successful completion of Doha Round Japan and the US must also commit to bring down their farm subsidies and India must commit more on services, he said.