London/Ranchi: Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren held a high-level meeting with UK Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities and Indo-Pacific) Seema Malhotra to deepen cooperation between Jharkhand and the United Kingdom across education, skills development, responsible mining, climate transition, culture and heritage conservation.
The UK side appreciated Jharkhand’s Marang Gomke Jaipal Munda Overseas Scholarship and Chevening Marang Gomke Jaipal Munda Overseas Scholarship, describing them as strong examples of India–UK partnership. Over the past four years, more than 100 students have benefited from these schemes. Both sides expressed interest in developing sustainability-linked scholarship pathways and integrating overseas education with mentorship, internships, leadership development and public service experience.
Discussions also focused on institutional partnerships with leading UK universities and skills bodies, including joint academic programmes, faculty exchanges, applied research, TVET and apprenticeship pathways in areas such as mining technology, environment and sustainability, data and AI, governance and public policy.
On economic and climate cooperation, the Chief Minister proposed closer collaboration with the UK in responsible mining, including ESG systems, mineral traceability, mine safety, clean processing and technology demonstrations. The two sides explored the establishment of a Jharkhand–UK working track on responsible critical minerals to strengthen standards, research and development, innovation and supply-chain partnerships.
The meeting further examined opportunities to work with UK climate and financial institutions on coal region diversification, climate adaptation, and transition finance structures to support workers and communities. Jharkhand was discussed as a potential pilot state for “Just Transition” programmes, with urban mobility and climate finance identified as complementary areas of cooperation.
Culture, sports and heritage conservation were highlighted as key people-to-people connectors. Chief Minister Soren sought UK collaboration under the India–UK Heritage Conservation Agreement for protecting Jharkhand’s megalith and monolith sites, citing global best practices such as Stonehenge and outlining a long-term vision towards UNESCO recognition.
Minister Malhotra accepted the Chief Minister’s invitation to visit Jharkhand. He was also given a tour of the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) headquarters and invited to visit the iconic heritage site of Stonehenge.
