Global Indianstory Global IndianDitching the nine-to-five routine, these young travellers are exploring the world

Ditching the nine-to-five routine, these young travellers are exploring the world

Written by: Team GI Youth

(May 22, 2022) Gone are the days when travelling was limited to summer vacations. All it takes these days is a long weekend and a quick scroll through AirBnB. More young Indians are traveling solo than ever before and India’s travel industry is thriving. While travelling solo was once a daunting affair, most are no longer averse to venturing out alone – they even seek it, choosing to travel overseas and see the world solo. Younger generations also want to be responsible, seeking out eco-tourism and sustainable experiences that don’t abuse nature or harm local communities.

Naturally, this has given rise to a breed of travel influencers, who, thanks to social media, offer up everything from travel hacks and tips to hotel and destination reviews. They may even compel you to get out of your comfort zone. Global Indian brings to you a list of the top travel bloggers in India, in no particular order, whose blogs are creating ripples among travel enthusiasts.

Shivya Nath

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Possibly one of the first female solo travellers, Shivya Nath became a full-time travel blogger at the age of 23. The author of a travel book, Shivya has revealed on numerous occasions that she was never meant to travel the tried-and-tested path. Believing that there is no greater tragedy than living a mundane life, Shivya has travelled to almost all the countries on the world map. While much of her travel has been documented in her blog, The Shooting Star, Shivya is also a regular contributor various travel magazines and has been featured on the cover of National Geographic Traveller, and The Washington Post. She is known as one of the travellers who are changing the way we think about the world. In 2021, Shivya was named one of 15 travel trailblazers by Travel + Leisure, and among 30 global champions of environmental sustainability in hospitality and tourism by the International Hospitality Institute.

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Prakriti Varshney

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A post shared by Prakriti 🇮🇳 Vegan (@itisinthename)

Prakriti Varshney is the second Indian woman to reach the summit of Mount Ama Dablam in Nepal. The 26-year-old also scaled the planet’s highest peak, Mt Everest, on May 12 this year. A very popular travel blogger and Instagram influencer, Prakriti, has also been vegan for more than five years. She originally embraced the lifestyle after learning about the devastating impact of the dairy industry on the environment. She brought her planetary concerns with her during her Everest expedition, by being cognizant of what she left behind on the mountain.

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Lakshmi Sharath

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A storyteller and traveller, Lakshmi Sharath started her career in the field of corporate media career, about three decades ago. Having spent over a decade and a half in the corporate world as a media professional, growing from the ranks of a correspondent to a Vice President with various companies and brands in the broadcast media, Lakshmi took a sabbatical at the peak of her career to explore the world. She started a blog capturing all her stories about people and places.

She has worked with over 100 brands as a content creator and influencer. This list tourism boards, airlines, hotels and clients in the tech, lifestyle, and auto genres among others. While she has traveled to over 50 countries, her passion lies in exploring the nooks and corners of India. Currently she is working on her project 100 stories of India.

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Venkat Ganesh

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Road trips are a thrilling way of discovering new destinations, and Venkat Ganesh is a pro. A well-known travel blogger who loves to be on the road with his bike as his sole travel companion, Venkat quit his job to satiate his travel hunger. His blog depicts exciting sagas of his road journeys; at the same time, dishing out information for backpackers and other intrepid travelers. You will be amazed to read about his unplanned journeys that have worked out to be such exciting adventures in themselves.

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Published on 22, May 2022

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When Indian kids say the ‘earnest’ things on Ted Talks, they inspire

(February 15, 2022) Ideas are everywhere. And the world is nurtured through them. The confidence and power to unleash those ideas into reality is something few possess. One of the best ways to spread the power of these ideas is through speeches and talks; TED talks is among the most recognised and celebrated platforms. From inspiring people to changing lives and perspectives, each talk coaxes one to step out of their comfort zone. A whole crop of young Global Indian children are unleashing the power of their ideas through these TED talks. Times Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao, innovator Neha Shukla, achiever Ishita Katyal and others, there is no dearth of confident young Indian-origin children taking to the stage to create awareness, and get the world to sit up and take notice. [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1kV3NQ87FY[/embed] Young and raring to go Recently, five-year-old Indian American child Kiara Kaur became the world’s youngest TEDx Speaker on Unboxing Curiosity at a TEDx event in Maharashtra on November 2021. Before that, it was 10-year-old Ishita Katyal, who held the distinction of being the youngest Indian to deliver a TED talk. Her topic: Why you don’t have to wait till you grow up. [caption id="attachment_10868" align="aligncenter"

[caption id="attachment_10868" align="aligncenter" width="600"] Gitanjali Rao[/caption]

It’s true. These young ones aren’t waiting for adulthood to make a difference. Their time to act (… or speak) is now, and they’re grabbing every opportunity to make a difference. Age is not a factor when it comes to initiating change too. Gitanjali Rao’s TED Talks, India Nayi Baat in 2019 witnessed the young leader expound these very ideas. “I don't think there should be an age barrier to solving problems. I hope that with the right focus and approach to continuous learning, we can all be superheroes, saving lives," she had told Shah Rukh Khan at the event.

In fact, several of these teens are quite enamoured by the entire platform and are adding to it through Indian TED Talks. Manasi Patil, a young author and STEM enthusiast avers, “TED talks display diverse perspectives of people all over the world. Bringing forward crucial messages and breaking stereotypes, I love the power every single TED talk has. Moreover, gaining insights into how people think and present themselves is an added bonus. TED talks are a cocktail of excitement, inspiration, changemaking ecosystem and simply a powerhouse for thinking beyond the box.”

Influencing minds, one talk at a time

[caption id="attachment_10869" align="aligncenter" width="641"] Neha Shukla[/caption]

Stressing on the importance of getting young people to innovate was Global Teen Leader Neha Shukla when she took the stage at TEDx Atlanta. “Our generation has just begun to embrace innovation. Gen Z already knows what challenges to care about; they just don’t know how to channelise their passion into tangible solutions,” she said during her Indian TED talk, adding, “Now more than ever we have the power to harness cutting edge science and technology to create positive change in our communities. With more people involved in the innovation process, the more problems we can solve, the faster we can do it.” Incidentally, Neha has impacted over 22,000 students and industry leaders through her talks and workshops. She was also honoured by NASDAQ.

An entire generation of thinkers and innovators are getting inspired. For instance, Yathaarth Murthy, a two-time Limca Book of Records holder for singing the highest number of anthems in the world, said that he loved watching TEDx videos as a young child. He wanted to be on the hallowed platform himself and his dream came true when he was invited to give his first TED talk at age 12 on being an anthemologist. His fourth talk was in 2020 when he spoke about pursuing one’s dreams.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1IVIcvIMKhU[/embed]

For Tamil Nadu’s Young Nutrition Ambassador and YouTuber, TED turned out to be a dream platform. The 13-year-old motivational speaker had for long been a fan of the platform and drawn inspiration from it and its speakers. So, when she was invited to speak twice on TED, she considered it a huge milestone in her young life. “Being able to speak on TED has been very special for me,” says the teen, who also talks about the kind of hard work that goes into delivering what might seem like a simple talk. “On the face of it, it might just look like a simple 20-minute talk, but there’s so much planning and preparation involved. It took me six months to be able to shape my speech and prepare for my talk.”

Leading by example

[caption id="attachment_10556" align="aligncenter" width="350"] Manasi Patil[/caption]

The fact that platforms like TED also afford these young speakers’ visibility and leverage is an added bonus. Manasi, who herself has enjoyed watching several TED talks by Shashi Tharoor, Tim Urban, and Rohini Godbole, says, “I have always believed that once you are on the stage, in the spotlight, you have this undefined power to get people on board with your dreams, your vision. The TED platform is one of the most powerful ways out there to do this. It's fascinating how your voice, from one part of the world, can be heard throughout the world through a video that is never more than 18 minutes. I intend to reach many GenZers and ‘reinforce the GenZ potential’ in a much wider sense through my TED talks.”

Top 5 Indian TED talks to watch

Motivational: Sparsh Shah on How a 13-year-old changed Impossible to I’m Possible
Life: Ishita Katyal on Experiences of a 12-year-old author
Invention: Deepika Kurup on A Young Scientist’s Quest for Clean Water
Positive Thinking: Manoj Dora on Never Give Up
Innovation: Anwesha Das on The role and Opportunities of child innovators

Reading Time: 8 mins

From Hobby to Profession: Bala Nivetha’s journey of Russian Sculpture Painting

(June 28, 2023) When Bala received an offer to create art pieces for two of the recently opened Haldiram’s outlets in Hyderabad it was a pleasant surprise for the artist. She embarked on her creative journey to showcase Indian heritage through her unique Russian Sculpting Painting - a lesser–known art form in which she has garnered immense expertise. Despite the tight deadline, Bala’s dedication resulted in captivating artworks. Bala remarks in an interview with Global Indian, “Interest towards Russian Sculpting Art is a very recent trend. Not many are aware of it.” A fusion of painting and sculpture, mastering Russian Sculpture Painting presents a steep learning curve initially, but once people master it, they unleash magic on their canvas. Bala who is not just an artist but also an art educator, has guided over 2,000 learners from India and abroad to create their own enchanting artworks. One of India’s biggest retailer for art and craft supplies, Itsy Bitsy has also commissioned Bala as one of its brand ambassadors. [caption id="attachment_31475" align="aligncenter" width="529"] Bala Nivetha[/caption] Organic popularity Bala finds happiness and satisfaction in her swift success within just two years of venturing into Russian Sculpting Art. As an early adopter of

Bitsy has also commissioned Bala as one of its brand ambassadors.

[caption id="attachment_31475" align="aligncenter" width="529"] Bala Nivetha[/caption]

Organic popularity

Bala finds happiness and satisfaction in her swift success within just two years of venturing into Russian Sculpting Art. As an early adopter of Instagram's reels feature, she witnessed her creations amassing impressive views, with some reaching as high as 18 million impressions.

Inspired by this organic growth, Bala recognized the potential of social media in expanding her business. She emphasises the importance of monetizing one's followers. Her influence has transcended national borders, and she has been able to connect with individuals from diverse backgrounds, including the US, UK, Russia, and the Middle East.

Managing rapid growth

Within a short period, Bala's Instagram account experienced an exponential surge in followers, reaching 100K purely organically. She recalls being unprepared for the overwhelming traffic, as her follower count increased by 1,000 every second. “I didn’t know how to handle it,” she smiles. Acknowledging her remarkable growth, Meta, the company behind Instagram, invited her as one of the few influencers from Tamil Nadu to a conference in Chennai, attended by people from across the country.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FOyahm8DitM

Within two years, Bala has successfully trained 2,000 individuals between the ages of 15 and 60, both within India and abroad. Language barriers have posed challenges in expanding her reach further, as enthusiasts from countries such as Iran, and Iraq have expressed keen interest but face communication limitations. “Since the art form originates from the country, the highest level of interest that I have received so far is from Russia but again, language is a barrier,” she remarks.

Bala conducts online classes and offline workshops in Salem, Bengaluru, and Chennai, providing art kits to participants in India and recommending local shops for those overseas due to customs restrictions on shipping Russian colour pastes.

From hobby to profession

Bala had always been interested in the arts. “It was my hobby for as long as I can remember,” she says. From standard eighth onwards, she consistently participated in and won competitions at school, district, and state levels. “I was popular for my art in school,” she smiles.

When she passed out of Cluny Higher Secondary School in Salem, the nearest and easiest course matching her creativity was that of fashion designing at the Kongu Art and Science College in Erode. It took one-and-half hours of travelling from Salem to Erode for Bala to attend college. “I could have gone to other towns like Coimbatore, Chennai, and Bengaluru but being a pampered child, I did not want to go too far from my parents.”

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A post shared by 𝔹𝕒𝕝𝕒ℕ𝕚𝕧𝕖𝕥𝕙𝕒|Art Workshops (@balanivetha_)

Passing out as the second rank holder in BSc, she went on to do her MSc in fashion designing from the same college and eventually gravitated towards the realm of arts.

Discovering Russian Sculpture Painting by chance, Bala immersed herself in the craft through self-teaching and learning from renowned painters’ worldwide by watching their videos. The unexpected boost of social media during the pandemic propelled her career. Now earning six figures per month, Bala looks forward to establishing an art studio in her hometown, Salem.

Future aspirations

Having already taught numerous individuals, some of whom have become teachers themselves, Bala anticipates Russian Sculpture Painting becoming more widespread in the coming days. With that in mind, the artist-educator plans to explore other unique art forms before they become commonplace, continuing her artistic journey.

Follow Bala Nivetha on Instagram

Reading Time: 5 mins

Aisha Nazia: The only Indian woman to be selected for FIFA Master course

One of Aisha Nazia's fondest memories is of her standing in a crowd and watching a football match with bated breath. As her favorite team scored the perfect goal, the Kozhikode-born football fan was euphoric. Her hometown is a mecca for football and it wasn't long before love for the game rubbed off on Nazia, who has now been selected for the prestigious FIFA Master program. She is the only Indian woman out of the 32 people that were selected from across the world for the program. Chosen out of 700 applicants, Nazia has become an inspiration for dreamers as well as go-getters. A postgraduate sports executive program, organized in partnership with De Montfort University (United Kingdom), SDA Bocconi School of Management (Italy) and the University of Neuchatel (Switzerland), the FIFA Master course is nothing short of an Ivy league program. The 26-year-old Indian has made the cut this year, but not without her share of struggles and challenges. As she quit a lucrative job to pursue her dreams, Nazia didn't find many supporters, but she was determined to follow through on her plan. How a childhood dream found wings Born in Kozhikode to Malayalam Muslim parents, Nazia found herself

im parents, Nazia found herself attracted to the game even as a child. After her parents' divorce when she was five, Nazia moved to Chennai with her mother who was then a teacher. But summer vacations took her back to her hometown each year where she fell in love with football. "I loved the way football brought the entire town together and it was the best show of secularism. It was at this tender age that my affinity towards football began to grow," she tells Global Indian in an exclusive interview from London where she has kick started the first leg of her course.

[caption id="attachment_10971" align="aligncenter" width="392"] Aisha Nazia at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester[/caption]

While the soccer field made Nazia quite happy, she was equally ecstatic nestled between her pile of books. After securing the eighth rank in mechanical engineering at University of Kerala, she found herself working with the Indian Oil-Adani Group Pvt Ltd in Kochi in 2017. Two years before she entered the corporate world though, Nazia had volunteered as a football facilitator for the 2015 National Games that were held in Kerala. Then a third year student at TKM College of Engineering, she heard about the games being held in her city and couldn't let the opportunity slip by. "It gave me the perfect exposure to the sporting industry and the workings of it," she adds.

The turning point

Though her job at Indian Oil kept her happy, she would often find herself drawn to the varied sporting events taking place in the country. So when the FIFA Under 17 World Cup was set to make its debut on Indian soil, Nazia found herself looking for volunteer opportunities on their website. Despite the fact that she didn't have a sports management degree, Nazia rolled the dice of fate and applied for the role of a workforce manager. Luck was on her side, and the 26-year-old found herself at one of the biggest sporting spectacles. Those months with FIFA turned out to be a game changer for this young woman as she learnt the tricks of the trade and found her true calling in sports management. In 2018, she quit her job to chase her dream and moved to Bengaluru.

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A post shared by Aisha Nazia (@themustardwall)

Since sporting events in India happen only once every few months, Nazia took up jobs as a consultant with startups to keep her stable financially. In between, she worked on two seasons of the Indian Super League.

When NBA found itself playing in India for the first time ever in 2019, the organizers got in touch with Nazia after reading a feature on her on FIFA. The conversation soon translated into an operations role in logistics.

A chance meeting

After working with the best for a few years and gaining valuable insights into the world of sports management, Nazia knew she was ready to take it a notch higher with the FIFA Master course, something she had heard about six years ago. "While volunteering at the National Games in 2015, a referee from Tamil Nadu who had trained under the Premiere League saw potential in me and encouraged me to take up the FIFA Master course," adds Nazia. But she wanted to give herself four years after her graduation before taking a plunge into any Masters program.

[caption id="attachment_10974" align="aligncenter" width="395"] Aisha Nazia at NBA matches in India.[/caption]

So when the entire world came to a standstill in 2020 and sporting events became a rarity, Nazia knew it was the right time to pursue her FIFA Master dream. "The selection process for this course is like it would be for an Ivy league school. This year 32 students were selected from a pool of 700 applicants across 29+ countries," adds the Kozhikode native. The one year course will have Nazia travel to three countries (England, Italy and Switzerland) to complete her Masters in Management, Law and Humanities of Sport.

Crowdfunding, not charity

If securing a seat among 700 students wasn't a rigorous process, Nazia found herself raising 22,000 CHF (approximately ₹28 lakh) for the course. She is one among the three students to have secured a merit scholarship which has halved her course fee, but the amount is still heavy on her pocket. "In a country like India, you can apply for an education loan against mortgage of property or gold, and I had nothing as security. Crowdfunding seemed like a wise decision to raise money for my education," says Nazia.

It was her mentor Gautham Chattopadhaya, who works with NASA, who advised her to opt for crowdfund. "Abroad, it's a very common concept to raise money for education, but in India, it's still at its nascent stage. I weighed my options for a long time and even posted on LinkedIn to get some feedback. Many encouraged me to go for it as they couldn't pursue their dreams owing to financial constraints. The stories of people on the post made me take it up as a social cause to empower people to follow their dreams. Education is a basic necessity and I decided to go forward with it to raise money and also inspire others to follow their dreams," adds Nazia.

[caption id="attachment_10977" align="aligncenter" width="423"] Aisha Nazia at Indian Super League 2019-2020[/caption]

With GoFundMe inaccessible to Indians, Nazia opted for Ketto to raise money for her education. "In India, crowdfunding is mostly restricted to medical emergencies, so my plea to raise money for education falls a little short in comparison to their issues."

However, this reality check has inspired Nazia to launch an education crowdfunding platform for Indian students soon. "I want to start a platform for people who dream of studying in India or abroad but are unable to do so due to financial constraints. My priority would be to get meritorious students their due through this crowdfunding platform," she explains.

[caption id="attachment_10979" align="aligncenter" width="575"] Aisha Nazia at a sporting event.[/caption]

The future

Nazia, who is currently at De Montfort University in Leicester, is excited for the program. "It will be an enriching experience with lots of learning and field trips. After completing three months in the UK, we will move to Italy for the next quarter. And the last six months will be in Switzerland, which is also the headquarters of FIFA. Getting to work with their management will be exciting. Also, at the end of course, FIFA selects three people for employment," reveals Nazia.

Being an advocate of sustainability, Aisha Nazia plans to work for the development of the Indian sports ecosystem after the completion of her course. "I want to focus on inclusion, youth development and come up with solutions to reduce carbon footprint during a sports event," signs off Nazia.

Reading Time: 7 min

‘Bow’ down to Indian archery champ Vennam Jyothi Surekha who has 98 medals & counting

(February 27) Aiming high is what Vennam Jyothi Surekha excels at. So much so that the winning streak follows her everywhere. As a three-year-old, she learnt swimming. By five, she had a unique record - swimming five km across the river Krishna in Andhra Pradesh in three hours, 20 minutes and six seconds. With that feat, her name entered the Limca Book of Records (2002). But that was just the beginning of more glory. She took up archery at age 11, and today, she has competed in 25 national and 42 international tournaments (so far) with a whopping 98 medals, making her one of the top Indian compound archers ever. “I believe competition should be with oneself,” smiles Surekha, the archer who has taken the world of archery by storm, winning one championship after the other. The Arjuna awardee who was the youngest from South India to receive the award has immense belief. It helps her better her own record year after year, and perform with unwavering focus. [caption id="attachment_11543" align="aligncenter" width="532"] Vennam Jyothi Surekha[/caption] The latest feather in her cap was the gold she clinched at the Lancaster Archery Classic in Pennsylvania, USA. “It was my first time at

rchery | Global Indian " width="532" height="709" /> Vennam Jyothi Surekha[/caption]

The latest feather in her cap was the gold she clinched at the Lancaster Archery Classic in Pennsylvania, USA. “It was my first time at the Lancaster archery classic and I was happy to be on the podium. Everything was new to me. I had so many memorable experiences,” says the serial winner, speaking exclusively with Global Indian.

The girl who ‘shot’ to fame

Born in Ramanagaram, Challapalli village in Krishna district of Andhra Pradesh in July 1996, Surekha is the only child of V Surendra Kumar, and V Sri Durga, who have been huge motivational figures in her life. The first time she was introduced to swimming was in 1999, a suggestion by her parents. Swimming across Krishna river is a faint memory, though Surekha recalls her parents taking her to the river to practice before the final attempt.

She took to archery too on her parents’ suggestion. Given the lack of sports infrastructure in Vijayawada, the idea was to try another sport. “They put me into archery as they wanted me to represent the country at the international level one day,” beams the 25-year-old. She first trained under local archer J Rama Rao (2008-2012), then made her way to the Indian Compound Archery chief coach Jiwanjot Singh Teja, and has been training with him since 2013.

Focused precision

Schooled at Nalanda Vidya Niketan in Vijayawada, she did computer engineering (B.Tech) and MBA from KL University, Vaddeswaram, passing both with distinction. Now, totally committed to archery, Surekha’s numbers tell an exemplary tale of courage and success. With over 50 state medals (2008-2012), 60 national medals in the under-13 to senior national which includes 38 gold medals, 13 silver and nine bronze, she has made medal-winning a habit.

Silverware follows this focused archer internationally too – she won 10 gold, 17 silver and 11 bronze medals, totalling 38. A shining star in Indian sports, Surekha has participated in five World Championship, World Cup (19), World University Games (2), World University Championship (1), Asian Games and others -- totalling 42 international tournaments. Most comfortable competing individually, she also participates in mixed categories too.

A ‘bull’s eye’ for the country

“Listening to the national anthem after winning golds at international championships has been the proudest moment of my life. It inspires me to take India further up in world archery rankings,” says the ace archer who comes from a simple farming family. Her parents and their struggles have inspired this archer, who was at one time among the world’s top 10. The fact that her father was a kabaddi player, who instilled a love for sports in her, has a lot to do with her chosen path too.

Her job at Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited under the Group-A sportspersons category, helps her follow that passion, and she is ever grateful. A tough regime is involved - six hours practice, two hours of physical training daily.

Her first bow, a Hoyt Rintek bow will always be most special. Shooting or archery is a focused sport, thus yoga and meditation help her find the calm amidst the storm, while gym sessions help improve her shoulder strength and cardio. Often, she can be seen hard at work at the Sports Authority of India, Sonepat, among the best centres for archery in India.

Thankful to Khelo India, which supports budding archers with equipment and training, the archery champ loves the facilities at the Sai centres. Receiving the Arjuna Award has been the biggest honour yet. “Receiving such a prestigious award gives one recognition for one’s achievements. It also motivates me to bring more laurels to the country,” she adds.

Her medals tally grows

Looking forward to the world cups, world games and Asian Games, Surekha is confident that she will continue her medal spree. An inspiration for many, Surekha guides amateurs passionate about sports. “There will be hurdles, choices to make between sports, academics or anything else. Give your 100 percent in achieving something, and take the right decisions at the right time with the right people,” she concludes.

Her career graph:

Only player to have won 3 Silver medals in a single Sr World Championship.
Only archer to win 6 medals in the Sr World Championships.
She won the 1st ever individual medal for India in women’s category in the World Championship in 2019.
She is the only player with world top 10 rankings in compound archery in individual, mixed team and women's team – a rare achievement.
In 2018, the Indian archery women’s team secured its first ever world no 1 rank. Jyothi Surekha’s performance contributed majorly to this.
She is the first ever Indian compound woman to achieve 4^th rank in the world rankings.
Her 6 - medal tally in World Cups, 2018 is the best by an Indian compound archer.
She has a national record of 710/720 to her name.
Awarded with Krida Ratna Award by Akkineni Foundation, USA in 2014

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Will Rishi Sunak be a gamechanger for UK’s Indian students?

(October 27, 2022) The famed 10 Downing Street, which once ruled over the entire Subcontinent, is now home to an Indian family. After an audience with King Charles III on Tuesday, the youngest and richest Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Rishi Sunak is set to take charge of the Great British Isles. Despite being relatively new to British politics, this economist played his cards right and in less than a decade went from being a Member of Parliament to Chancellor of the Exchequer and now the 57th Prime Minister of the UK. Proud of his Indian roots, Sunak is also the first Hindu to take over the PM office. While he has much to sort out within Britain, the 42-year-old does recognise that good relations with India are important for the UK. Earlier this year, while addressing a gathering of British Indian Conservative Party members, Sunak had expressed his desire to change the UK-India relationship to make it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India. He greeted the crowd in Hindi with "Namaste, Salaam, Kem cho, and Kidda," he said, "Aap sab mere parivar ho (You are a part of

ke it a more two-way exchange that opens up easy access to UK students and companies in India. He greeted the crowd in Hindi with "Namaste, Salaam, Kem cho, and Kidda," he said, "Aap sab mere parivar ho (You are a part of my family)." When questioned about bilateral ties, he responded, "We know the UK-India relationship is important. We represent the living bridge between our two countries. We are all very aware of the opportunity for the UK to sell things and do things in India, but actually we need to look at that relationship differently because there is an enormous amount that we here in the UK can learn from India."

An immigrant himself, the Global Indian is of the opinion that young students must not be denied any opportunity for good education. And thus, he is not only looking to support India's student mobility but also vice-versa. "We are all very aware of the opportunity for the UK to sell things and do things in India, but actually we need to look at that relationship differently because there is an enormous amount that we here in the UK can learn from India," he said, adding, "I want to make sure that it’s easy for our students to also travel to India and learn, that it’s also easy for our companies and Indian companies to work together because it’s not just a one-way relationship, it’s a two-way relationship, and that’s the type of change I want to bring to that relationship."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=prQhm32TzHA&t=2962s

Currently, with a 96 percent student visa acceptance rate, about 1,65,000 Indian students have moved to the UK between 2019 and 2022 alone - making them the biggest student diaspora in the country. The Indian and UK officials are working closely to support student mobility and create better opportunities for Indian students to succeed in the global job market. Only last year, the two countries announced the India-UK Roadmap 2030 to pave the way for deeper collaboration between the two nations, allowing for more exchange of knowledge and ideas between institutions and supporting the two-way mobility of students, teachers, and researchers.

Despite the reassurances, experts believe Sunak’s impact on India-UK ties will be marginal at best. With Suella Braverman, who has been re-appointed as the Home Secretary, branding Indians as the largest group of migrants who overstayed in the UK, the mobility of skilled Indians to the UK could be a sticky point. It also remains to be seen how the Sunak government handles immigrants, who have extended the maximum period of two years allowed to international students to work or look for work within the UK.

Follow Rishi Sunak on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram

Reading Time: 5 mins