The Judge Business School and the University of Cambridge have announced the launch of the Cambridge Centre for Indian Business.
The centre will support the work of the newly established Jawaharlal Nehru professorship of Indian business and enterprise, created through a £3.2m endowment from the Indian government. The contribution marks the centenary of Pandit Nehru's arrival at Trinity College Cambridge, where he studied for a degree in natural sciences.
The centre will be led by the Nehru professor - a position that was established to help promote an understanding of India's interests and its place in the world economy, as well as helping to forge closer links between Indian and other international economies. A board of Indian business experts will elect the professor.
The Indian business centre will be hosted by the Judge school. It has been created thanks to pound 550,000 funding from BP, the energy company that also funds the BP India PhD Scholarship.
Themes to be covered in the first three years include technology innovation, emerging global economies and the relationship between economic development, the knowledge economy and entrepreneurship.
Arnould De Meyer, director of the Judge School, says the new chair marks increasing global interest in the new business models being generated in India, as well as strengthening the university's links with the country.
"The centre will serve as a focal point for Indian and UK business and policymakers to work together to promote a better understanding of India's business interests and its place in the world economy," he adds.