London/Ranchi:The Chief Minister of Jharkhand, Shri Hemant Soren, met Ms Seema Malhotra, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities and Indo-Pacific), Government of the United Kingdom, to discuss deepening practical cooperation between Jharkhand and the UK across education, skills, responsible mining, climate transition, culture, and heritage.

The UK side appreciated Jharkhand’s pioneering Marang Gomke Jaipal Munda Overseas Scholarship and the Chevening–Marang Gomke Overseas Scholarship, recognising them as a living example of the India–UK partnership. 

Over 100 students from Jharkhand have benefited from these scholarships in the last four years. Both sides expressed interest in exploring sustainability-linked scholarship pathways, including structured bridges connecting overseas education with mentoring, internships, leadership development, and public service exposure.

Discussions were held on facilitating introductions with leading UK universities, skills bodies, and qualification authorities to establish institutional partnerships in mining technology, environment and sustainability, data and AI, governance, and public policy. 

Proposed areas of collaboration include joint academic programmes, faculty exchanges, applied research, and TVET and apprenticeship pathways.

On economic and climate cooperation, the Chief Minister proposed closer engagement with UK capability providers on responsible mining, covering ESG systems, mineral traceability, mine safety, cleaner processing, and technology demonstration. 

Both sides discussed the creation of a Jharkhand–UK Working Track on Responsible Critical Minerals, linking standards, R&D, innovation ecosystems, and resilient supply-chain partnerships.

The meeting also explored collaboration with UK climate and finance institutions to structure transition finance for coal-region diversification, climate resilience, and worker and community support. Jharkhand was positioned as a potential pilot state for implementable “just transition” programmes, with urban mobility and climate financing identified as complementary areas of cooperation.

Cultural, sports, and heritage exchanges were discussed as low-friction, high-impact avenues to strengthen people-to-people ties. 

The Chief Minister sought UK cooperation under the India–UK Heritage Conservation Agreement to support the preservation of Jharkhand’s megaliths and monoliths, drawing on global best practices such as Stonehenge, with a long-term vision towards UNESCO recognition.

The Chief Minister invited Minister Malhotra to visit Jharkhand to take these discussions forward, which she received positively. During the visit, the Chief Minister was also shown around the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Headquarters, and Minister Malhotra invited him to visit Stonehenge, the UK’s iconic megalithic heritage site, on Saturday.