India is a growing economic superpower, with a growth rate of over nine per cent a year. Its tourism industry is growing rapidly – in 2006, 230,000 Indians came to London, spending £152 million and making them the biggest spenders from the Asian market. Indian students are also flocking to London to study, with numbers doubling in four years. London’s largest minority ethnic community is those of Indian origin and 10,000 Indian-owned businesses have based themselves in the UK capital.

“We want more people from India to make London their first choice for visiting, studying or locating a business.

This new office in Mumbai will show Indians what London has to offer and will provide practical resources to help encourage greater economic and cultural activity - particularly in the film sector, which through year on year growth is strengthening ties between the two cities.”

The new office will act as a first point of contact with London, providing information and intelligence on what London has to offer to a wide range of existing and potential customers including businesses, consumers, governments and economic development partners.

Rohit Manchanda said: “This is an exciting new challenge. I look forward to working towards enhancing the London India association in the business, cultural & political spheres. I hope we can strengthen brand London’s presence further in the Indian market.”

The office has been planned and created in partnership with the London Development Agency, which promotes business in London for the Mayor, Think London, which promotes foreign direct investment into London, and Visit London, which promotes tourism in the UK capital city. All partners will jointly work to provide a coordinated service from the office in order to deliver clear and shared messages on London.

The Mayor opened the new office as part of his official week-long visit to India entitled “London-India: Partners in Globalisation”, to promote London as a destination for business, tourism, studying and creative industries and to strengthen relationships between London and India.