In this episode of In Focus podcast, London’s Lady Mayor Dame Susan Langley speaks with The Hindu’s Maharashtra Chief of Bureau Vinaya Deshpande about her maiden visit to India, the voices she heard from the financial and insurance service industry, and the opportunities for both the countries in view of the India – UK Free Trade Agreement. She is only the third woman to hold the Lord Mayor’s Office in its 837-year history, and she is the first to go by the title of Lady Mayor. She is the global ambassador for the UK's financial and professional services.

The Lady Mayor’s key observation is that regulation can be simplified in India. She also highlighted that there is a lack of understanding in the UK about the potential of the Indian markets. Beyond the implementation of the FTA, she thinks there is need to lead conversations about successful case studies and real stories of businesses from both the sides, to make people invest.

Terming her visit to UIDAI as one of the most interesting meetings in India, she said she was impressed with India’s Aadhaar roll-out. She said that though UK wants to look at a universal ID system, she was not sure if the country will follow up on Aadhaar.

Batting for diversity and inclusion in the financial services, she put the onus equally on women to step up and seek challenging roles.

Guest: Dame Susan Langley, lady Mayor of London

Host: Vinaya Deshpande Pandit

Edited and produced by Sharmada Venkatasubramanian

Video: Aditya Shirsekar

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