Britain, India sign six deals, including Vodafone 1.3 billion pound investment

Modi is seeking to restore his authority on the world stage after a defeat for his Hindu nationalist party in populous Bihar state on Sunday.

While the British PM said he wanted to support Modi in his efforts to transform India with improved infrastructure, Modi signalled he wanted Britain to stay in the European Union, saying the country was India’s gateway to Europe.

Mr Modi’s humble origins – he is the son of a street tea seller – strikes a chord with many of those who came to the United Kingdom as economic migrants from East Africa.

Following the historic visit, Simon Walker, director general of the Institute of Directors, said: “Narendra Modi’s visit and the promise of billions in investment deals is a vote of confidence in the British economy from one of the world’s most important developing nations”.

Mr Modi insisted India was naturally against “anything that is having to do with intolerance”. “I see India as I see Britain, a country that is a vibrant multi-racial, multi-faith, multi-ethnicdemocracy that has very strong public debate, freedom of speech, rule of law and those are things that Britain and India continue to learn from each other”, Cameron said. He said the Indian diaspora carries these values with it wherever they go, and hence they are great ambassadors for India.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s political problems in New Delhi seemed a long way away on Friday as he addressed an adoring crowd in a stadium daubed in the saffron, white and green of his country’s flag.

“Such a youthful nation like India can not lag behind in development”, said Modi in his over an hour long speech.

Modi is expected to speak to a crowd of over 60,000 British Indians, and the day’s events will culminate with the “biggest firework display in the whole country”. “The Sufi tradition is the best antidote to terrorism”, he said.

Meanwhile, roughly 200 literary figures, including Mumbai-born British author Salman Rushdie, signed an open letter warning of a “rising climate of fear” in India. These successes on the foreign stage help obscure setbacks and controversies in India, like recent electoral defeat in Bihar and the anger over his lukewarm response to the murder of a Muslim accused of eating beef.

Mr Modi, wearing a red sleeveless tunic over white clothing, stepped out of the vehicle on to the Palace’s red carpet, which extended into the courtyard.

– Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi lunched with Queen Elizabeth II and rallied thousands of cheering supporters on the second day of his high-profile official visit to Britain, as royal officials announced Prince William and his wife Kate will visit India next year.

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