- Week-long Greater Manchester trade mission to India draws to a close with announcement of new jobs and investment wins that will benefit people in Greater Manchester
- Mayor Bev Craig led a 60-strong Greater Manchester delegation with engagements in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata
- Tech firm Hexaware to create 420 new jobs with new £9m innovation centre, with further investments from Infosys, 42Gears and Raven AI
- The University of Manchester signs innovation partnership with Bengaluru
- Alongside RPSG Group investment in Manchester Super Giants and Lancashire Cricket Club, recent Indian investment in Greater Manchester tops £100m
Greater Manchester is celebrating a successful trade mission to India which has secured over 600 new jobs and delivered new opportunities for businesses and closer partnerships in innovation, culture and sport.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Bev Craig led a 60-strong delegation on the week-long, multi-city mission which included meetings and engagements to promote the city region to India and open up new opportunities for our businesses.
The mission began in New Delhi with joint activity alongside other northern mayors and the UK Government, building on the momentum of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement signed last year. Greater Manchester’s own programme then continued to Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata.
During the mission the Mayor and Invest Manchester met with Indian IT company Hexaware to sign off on a deal to create 420 jobs at a new £9m Design and Innovation Centre in Manchester, while tech giant Infosys committed to working with Greater Manchester to create 80 new apprenticeships.
The mission concluded in Kolkata with a visit to RPSG Group, who have partnered with Lancashire Cricket Club to acquire a majority stake in the Manchester Super Giants and put forward plans to build a new high-performance cricket training facility next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
Bev Craig, Mayor of Greater Manchester, said:
“Our trade mission to India has delivered over 600 new jobs and tens of millions in investment that will benefit the people and businesses back in Greater Manchester. We know that to create good growth at home we have to attract investment into Greater Manchester.
“I am always proud to represent our city region on the global stage and talk to people about what makes it such a fantastic place. The last mayoral trade mission to India was in 2019 and since then we’ve seen the signing of the UK-India Free Trade Agreement and the establishment of the Consulate General for India in Manchester. And with the largest population and one of the world’s fastest growing economies, India represents a huge opportunity.
“But our relationship is about more than just trade and investment. We’re strengthening our links ties in innovation, culture and sport, building on sectors where we have expertise – as well as our shared love of cricket.
“That’s why it’s so important to come out and engage with Indian businesses and open up new opportunities for those based in Greater Manchester.”
Greater Manchester’s delegation brought together representatives from a range of businesses, universities, cultural organisations and sporting institutions from across the city region, supported by the Manchester India Partnership, Invest Manchester and Marketing Manchester.
India is one of Greater Manchester’s most significant economic partners, with a trading relationship worth over £800m. It’s also our fastest-growing export markets.
The delegation included six Greater Manchester businesses who are looking to grow their business in India – Oldham-based WiFi company Purple, Wigan based manufacturer Kane International, Manchester-based AI company SimplifAI and cable manufacturer Permanoid, Trafford-based energy company SSE Energy and textile manufacturer The Avoca Group – supported by the GM Business Growth Hub.
Investment from Indian companies into Greater Manchester has created thousands of jobs across the city region. We have become a natural UK base for Indian companies, with Tech Mahindra in Salford’s MediaCityUK, Hero Cycles in Trafford Park, and TCS, Firstsource, ICICI Bank and State Bank of India already established here.
Including commitments secured on the trade mission, Indian investment now exceeds £100 million, with wins from:
- Hexaware – creating 420 jobs and £9 million for a new Design and Innovation Centre at SISTER delivered in collaboration with the University of Manchester.
- RPSG Group – Partnering with Lancashire Cricket Club to invest £80 million to become co-owners of the Manchester Super Giants – winners of the men’s The Hundred in 2026 – with plans to build a new high-performance cricket training centre next to Old Trafford Cricket Ground.
- Keva Fragrances – Investing £8 million for a new Global Creative Development Centre at Manchester Science Park, creating more than 30 skilled jobs.
- Raven AI – Investing approximately £7.5 million over five years to establish a UK base at DiSH, including a dedicated AI security research laboratory. The Chennai-headquartered AI-native cyber security company will create around 20 specialist research jobs in Greater Manchester, working on areas such as adversarial AI and AI agent security.
- 42 Gears – Investing approximately £2 million invested in Greater Manchester, with a new office in Didsbury, its third owned office globally after Bangalore and California. Growing its Greater Manchester headcount to above 50 in the next three years and developing a university partnership to support entry-level recruitment.
- Tata Consultancy Services – working on a new collaboration with Health Innovation Manchester to strengthen neighbourhood care through its Digital Nerve Centre model. Proven at scale in India where it supports more than 10 million people, the model, developed by Tata MD, brings together data, clinical expertise, and operational insight to support coordinated decision-making across primary, secondary, and social care. The Digital Nerve Centre will enable more proactive management of health conditions, improve patient outcomes, and help deliver care in community settings across Greater Manchester.
- Infosys – highlighting its continued commitment to Greater Manchester through the recruitment of 80 apprentices from the Greater Manchester area to support the delivery of the NHS PeoplePortal Transformation Programme, a 15-year contract to modernise workforce services through a single integrated platform, which will serve 1.9 million NHS employees across England and Wales.
- Meta for Data Technologies – announcing plans for a new AI and data research centre, an engineering and AI hub, and a quantum computing lab in Greater Manchester, with a total UK investment of £50 million in the coming years.
Jo Ahmed MBE, Co-Chair of the Manchester India Partnership, said:
“The relationship between Greater Manchester and India runs through our economy, our universities, our culture, our sport, and most importantly the people who connect our two regions.
“This week in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Kolkata, built on everything that the Manchester India Partnership has put in place with the support of the Consul General of India and taken our relationship to the next level.
“The Manchester India Partnership was set up to bring together business, academia, culture and sport with a shared purpose of strengthening our regions relationship with India to bring bilateral economic benefits for people and place. The mission this week has delivered on all fronts and I’m looking forward to seeing the next wave of collaboration in the weeks and months to come.”
Joe Manning, Managing Director of Invest Manchester, said:
“India has become one of the markets that matters most to us, and what’s landed this week is the result of years spent building relationships through the Manchester India Partnership and our own direct work with Indian businesses.
“Over £100 million in investment and more than 600 new jobs created, Keva’s creative centre at Manchester Science Park and Hexaware’s new base at SISTER show that clearly, and 42 Gears growing in Didsbury and Raven AI choosing DiSH prove it isn’t confined to just the one sector.
“Indian companies looking at this country now have a different set of terms to work with under the Free Trade Agreement, and Greater Manchester can back that up with the research base, the supply chain and the talent to grow at scale here. This mission provides the platform to build on that momentum.”
