India and UK strike tech co-operation pact and plot deeper links once Brexit's done
- Reference: 1604555770
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2020/11/05/india_uk_tech_cooperation_mou/
- Source link:
At the time of writing, neither nation has posted the text of the MoU. The website and ministers of the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, which India says signed the deal, are silent on the matter.
What we do have is an Indian government [1]statement saying that, for starters, the pact aims at "strengthening bilateral cooperation and mutual understanding in the field of Telecommunications/ICTs. Post-Brexit, the MoU is also aiming for enhanced scope of cooperation and opportunities for India."
India said the MoU covers a dozen "areas of common interest for cooperation", among them mobile roaming between the two countries and the tantalising aim of "exploring opportunities for joint work in signatory countries and third countries on Telecommunications/ICT".
India securities regulator suggests webcam surveillance of finance folk who work from home [2]READ MORE
The plan also calls for co-operation on "Technological development in Telecommunications/ICT including 5G, Internet of Things/Machine to Machine, Cloud Computing, Big Data etc" and "Security of Telecommunication Infrastructure, Security in the provision and use of telecommunication services".
"Building capacity in high technology areas and exchange of expertise wherever possible" is on the agenda too, along with "Collaboration and Sharing of information on Research & Development on emerging technologies and innovation where appropriate".
Standardised testing and certification is another ambition.
With only the Indian statement to work with, it's hard to say what either nation hopes to get from the pact. But with the UK looking to strike new trade deals post-Brexit and India looking to build an electronics export industry and find more opportunities for its services sector, it is not hard to imagine the technical collaborations mentioned above greasing the skids for imports and the flow of IP to assist Indian manufacturers.
Made-in-India 5G networking kit flowing from the [3]Qualcomm/Jio alliance could also help the UK to build next-generation wireless networks.
India's statement makes no mention of labour mobility, but that's a hot issue in India where the USA's restrictions on H-1B visas have not been well received. ®
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[1] https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1670014
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/11/02/sedi_india_security_advice/
[3] https://www.theregister.com/2020/10/21/qualcomm_jio_alliance/
[4] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Video on Demand?
I've been here too long
Will you be selling the [1] El Reg t-shirt again?
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2004/03/09/ny_times_in_my_job/
Doh!
All that means is that more IT jobs will move to India. Surely even our Bozo of a PM can see that.
Re: Doh!
I also suspect many more Indian IT workers will be headed to the UK.
Re: Doh!
Why? Because of the nice weather? (sorry, couldn't resist).
Seriously, I see more and more jobs being located "elsewhere" in the future (and I am not talking about offshoring, not neccessarily). Having an office where to meet colleagues, have a coffee, chat about stuff (personal and business) now and then is nice and useful. Unfortunately the lock down has shown that we can in fact work from home, and be similarly productive as in the office. Office space costs money. I can see even our behemoth of company move towards reducing office space and letting people work from home more. So no need to move. That might be interesting with people working in differnet countires how payment (and rates) and taxes will be organised, but that's a different issue.
Still, good luck for the project
Re: Doh!
That's what the Indian government will request from the UK - a ton more visas.
I agree WFH will increase, however as regards significant offshoring to India, time differences and connection stability/reliability will be an issue. From personal experience, wifi doesn't work well in tropical Indain rainshowers. Also, India had the highest number of internet shutdowns last year of any country in the world. A US nonprofit says that "local officials have very broad discretion to order shutdowns." So it may be easier to import the workers and pay them less in the brave new world of "free" Britain.
Re: Doh!
Rain is a physical barrier that only upping the transmit power (at any frequency) can overcome, Indian rain is just a little warmer than the average UK downpour.
A year ago the visa count was a big thing, now I'd be more worried about current WFH jobs going east than planeloads of graduates+visa arriving looking for a UK level salary, India is easily capable of bringing it's infrastructure up to the reliability level enjoyed here if they make it a priority.
Re: if they make it a priority
They [1]have made it a [2]priority .
[1] https://www.theregister.com/2020/08/17/digital_india_upgrades/
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2020/09/22/india_fibre_to_the_village_sprint/
Re: Doh!
Good for Indians getting Europe wages but living in India , cost of living 1/6 of here
Good for Europeans now allowed to work from home - if they take up the Barbados offer , or similar.
(unfortunately my partner is tied to workplace customer facing desk :( )
Re: Doh!
So, more profits for his donors. Lost jobs or depressed salaries is not his main concern
Re: Doh!
On the UK's current trajectory, Indian companies will soon be relocating their call centres in the UK to take advantage of the cheaper labour costs here........
Just means more outsourcing and on shoring
Don’t mind so long as there is a level playing field, or a minimum income for outsourced and onshore roles. £50k for an off/on shore junior Helpdesk analyst would incentivise growing skills and talent here in the uk.
Re: Just means more outsourcing and on shoring
£50k will motivate almost anyone , doesent mean its viable or realistic
what planet are you on?
Escape India
It will simply mean more Indian developers will try to escape that s**t country and settle in the West. Now that the U.S. has effectively been closed, Indians will make handy use of Brexit to get out.
Re: Escape India
I love how you hide the frankly inoffensive word, "shit", while insulting a country.
I quite like India.....in small doses. I can see why many want to work abroad, but ultimately the likes of the UAE are far more appealing to them than Blighty.
Export to India?
Presumably someone has managed to get some sort of trade deal with India to overcome the problem of importing physical goods to them.
It is the worst bureaucratic nightmare I've ever seen.
Re: Export to India?
I think you will find that India is a bureaucratic nightmare.
Loads of cheap foreign labour coming to work here. The Brexiter's dream.
not one post on it security concerns?
Will that help VOD?