The UK government has drawn up a list of emerging Indian cities that it will target for British investment, opening the door for City lawyers to advise British businesses heading to these locations.

A report by the UK India Business Council (UKIBC), a government-sponsored trade organisation, lists nine rapidly growing Indian cities as having the greatest potential for investment, including tie-ups with local law firms.

Speaking at the Law Society UK-India legal practice conference this week, Sharon Bamford, the UKIBC’s chief executive, said she wants law firms to join trade delegations to all nine emerging cities over the coming months.

The four cities deemed to have the greatest potential for UK businesses are Pune, Ahmedabad, Chandigarh and Jaipur. Vadodara, Indore, Kochi, Nagpur and the state of Goa are also listed as having high potential. Social, economic and cultural indicators, as well as the infrastructure of 179 Indian cities were evaluated.

The study lists life sciences, financial services, creative and media, and built environment as priority sectors for UK companies looking to do business in India.

Martin Harman, a director of the UKIBC and partner at national firm Pinsent Masons, said public private partnership (PPP) projects are ‘seen as the way forward’ in India. He said that lawyers should be aware of opportunities in PPP infrastructure projects in the nine emerging cities.

Chris Parsons, partner at City firm Herbert Smith and chair of the firm’s India group, suggested that Indian firms would have to set up new offices in the emerging cities.

The UKIBC report will be published next week. At the start of the year, India’s parliament passed a bill allowing Indian and foreign law firms to set up limited liability partnerships (see [2009] Gazette, 8 January, 1).