Following the Union Budget of India on Saturday, Mr Arun Jaitley, Honourable Minister of Finance, Government of India, is coming to the UK next week.
He will be inaugurating the much anticipated Gandhi statue at the Parliament square on March 14 in presence of UK Prime Minister Mr David Cameron.
This statue was made possible after donations to the Gandhi Statue Memorial Trust passed £1 million. Donors included Business tycoons Rami Ranger MBE, Vivek Chadha, Infosys founder N R Narayana Murthy, Rahul Bajaj and Deepak Yadav.
The sculpture by Philip Jackson is inspired by photographs of the civil rights leader outside 10 Downing Street in 1931.
Gandhi will be the first Indian to be honoured with a statue in the square, making it the second statue of him in London.
His memorial will stand alongside those of Abraham Lincoln, Nelson Mandela, David Llyod George, Jan Smuts, Henry John Temple, Edward Smith-Stanley, Benjamin Disraeli, Sir Robert Peel and George Canning, opposite the Houses of Parliament.
On 13 March Mr Jaitley will be attending an exclusive event organised by FICCI, the High Commission of India and the UK India Business Council.
FICCI President Dr Jyotsna Suri said: “FICCI compliments the Finance Minister for his foresight and for presenting a highly progressive and visionary budget.” She is leading a high-level delegation of CEOs from India to the UK alongside the visit.
Sources revealed, that the Union Minister is also meant to officially inaugurate UK operations of a popular Indian bank in London, during this visit.
