The UK government wants the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to provide advance indication of its road map on the ownership of domestic banks by foreign banks, a move that is expected in 2009.

Speaking to FE, Jane Owen, director with British government business promotion agency UK Trade & Investment, said RBI should stick to its word about unveiling new plans on the ownership of domestic banks and also provide some advance indication on the issue, which would help overseas banks prepare for what is to come.

?We believe that RBI would stick to its earlier promise that it would revisit the issue of the ownership of domestic banks by foreign banks in 2009 and would remove the existing cap of 5% on share ownership. The step would enhance the confidence of overseas entities,?? said Owen.

Owen said the UK has taken up the issue at a high level with Indian authorities. ?Our talks with the Indian government and RBI are on a host of issues relating to the further opening up of the Indian banking and insurance sector,?? she said.

Indian companies, including banks and insurance companies, are free to operate in the UK without any restrictions and the UK government expects a similar environment for British financial firms in India. The UK encourages Indian companies to invest in the country and almost 20% of Indian exports to Europe are received by the UK, she said.

?We have reason to believe that UK financial institutions are facing discrimination in India while conducting their normal operations, including opening up branches and ATMs,?? she added.

The UK government has assured the Indian government that it would help in building Mumbai into an international financial centre (IFC) and would also help India train the right kind of professionals.

?One should not lose time in developing Mumbai as an IFC as the world would not wait for a such a development, while other Asian centres like Dubai and Singapore are fast catching up,?? she explained.

At government as well as bilateral business fora, the UK is pursuing proposals to establish collaboration in IT, healthcare, advance technology and energy sectors in India.

Terming the government response to opening up the financial sector as ?slow?, Owen said India should integrate into the global architecture.