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About the Forum
Bridging market opportunity with policy delivery.
The UK India Strategic Investment Forum (UKISIF) is a bilateral platform for investors, corporates and governments working across the UK–India corridor. We combine strategic advice, structured policy engagement and curated government access in one accountable place.
Our mission
To convert UK–India opportunity into investment that is made, delivered and sustained. We do this by putting the people who allocate capital in the same room as the people who shape policy, and following through until projects move.
The challenge
The UK–India relationship has never offered more. The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is in force, government frameworks on both sides are stronger, and priority sectors from clean energy to life sciences are open for capital.
Yet investors still struggle to turn intent into execution. Regulation is complex and changes quickly. Approvals sit across national and state authorities. Too many meetings end without an owner or a next step.
Our answer
UKISIF works three levers at once.
We advise.
Strategic advice on market entry, structuring and timing, in either direction across the corridor.
We engage policy.
Issue mapping, regulatory consultation and sandbox proposals that feed evidence into policy on both sides.
We convene government.
Curated access to ministers, regulators, investment promotion bodies and state authorities in the UK and India.
Every engagement is recorded in an action register, so follow-up happens and progress can be measured.
Sushil W Gaikwad
Founder & Director, UK India Strategic Investment Forum
A message from our Founder & Director
“The Forum exists to convert opportunity into impact — not only to convene important conversations, but to catalyse transactions and partnerships that stand the test of time.”
For nearly two decades I have advised businesses, investors and public bodies moving between the United Kingdom and India. Again and again, I have seen the same pattern. The opportunity is real, the goodwill is genuine, and yet good projects stall between a promising meeting and a signed agreement.
UKISIF was founded to close that gap. We bring investors and government to the same table, and we stay at the table until there is an outcome. That means clear owners, honest timelines and a record of what happens next.
The entry into force of the India–UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement in July 2026 opens a new chapter. Lower tariffs, better market access and the Double Contribution Convention make the corridor easier to work in than ever. Our job is to help members turn those provisions into contracts, factories, routes and jobs on both sides.
I invite you to join us.
Sushil is dual-qualified as a Solicitor of England and Wales and an Advocate enrolled with the Bar Council of India. He has over 18 years' experience in cross-border India–UK investment, corporate and regulatory work, and is Vice Chairman of the Commonwealth Prosperity Initiative.
Leadership & Advisory Panel
The people behind the Forum.
UKISIF draws on senior advisors across shipping, infrastructure, policy, sport, technology and enterprise in the UK and India.
Dual-qualified Solicitor of England and Wales and Advocate of the Bar Council of India, advising on UK–India investment for over 18 years.
Strategic Advisory Board · Shipping and maritime
Maritime entrepreneur with more than 30 years in shipping and supply chains across Asia Pacific. His company offers liner agency, logistics and charter services in the UK, India, Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia and Bangladesh. A qualified international arbitrator.
Shipping, freight forwarding and logistics leader with senior roles across Asia, the Middle East and Europe, specialising in break-bulk, heavy-lift and container trades. Helps businesses grow in UK and international markets.
Strategic Advisory Board · Infrastructure and technology
Chairman and Managing Director of the Chourangi Group, with more than two decades of experience in highways, urban infrastructure and large-scale housing redevelopment in Mumbai and Nagpur.
Two decades working with governments, global foundations and business leaders on policy and cross-border partnerships, with a focus on healthcare, technology and Global Capability Centres.
Strategic Advisory · CSR
UK-based business leader, community advocate and international bridge-builder with more than three decades connecting people, institutions and businesses across the UK, India and Africa. In 2004–05 he became the first Asian National President of the National Federation of Retail Newsagents (NFRN), later serving as Founder Director and Vice Chairman of NFRN Mutual. Through CPI he promotes trade, investment and partnerships between the UK, Africa and India.
Former State Commissioner, Commissionerate Divyangjan, Government of Rajasthan, bringing first-hand experience of delivering disability rights at state level.
Strategic Advisory Board · Global sports sector
Non-executive director and strategic advisor with over 30 years of board-level experience in international business, sport and investment. Has helped secure more than £100 million of inward investment.
Strategic Advisory Board · Maharashtra and Goa region
Strategy and policy advisor based in Mumbai, with experience advising elected representatives and senior advisory roles across legal, education and technology businesses.
Serial entrepreneur, investor and strategic consultant, building Thakorji and taking Bharat to India and the world. Alumnus of the Global India Leadership Programme at Cambridge Judge Business School.
Strategic Advisory Board · Andhra Pradesh and Telangana region
Quality and transformation leader with over 19 years delivering ERP, CRM and digital programmes for organisations including M&S, Volvo Cars and BNP Paribas.
Strategic Advisory Board · Fintech, data and technology
London-based corporate and commercial lawyer specialising in financial technology, payments and intellectual property. Formerly Vice President and Senior Corporate Counsel at Elavon, part of U.S. Bancorp, with earlier legal roles at BT, NEX Group and Intercontinental Exchange.
Strategic Advisory Board · Real estate and infrastructure
London-based Managing Director of Mayfair Global (UK) Limited since 2011, with more than two decades in sales, client development and team leadership across the UK and India.
How we stay independent
UKISIF is an independent organisation. It is not part of, or funded by, the UK or Indian governments. Paid advisory services are kept separate from policy engagement, and we operate under published editorial, conflict-management, data-protection and anti-corruption protocols.