David Cameron to lead second trade mission to India Ministers and officials believe much of that growth will come from encouraging more SMEs to explore trade opportunities in India, rather than to rely on the prospect of large infrastructure and defence deals alone. The initial optimism following the Prime Minister's 2010 visit soon gave way to disappointment. A number of British firms were not paid for work on Delhi's Commonwealth Games; British energy giant Cairn was forced to renegotiate an oil exploration and production deal with the Indian government; and Vodafone was hit by an unexpected £1.4bn tax demand relating to its 2007 takeover of mobile phone operator Hutch. The Indian government's decision last year to award a £7bn contract for multi-role combat aircraft to Dassault rather than choosing the Typhoon Eurofighter deepened the gloom. Although major deals, such as BP's £4.6bn acquisition of 30pc of Indian giant Reliance's gas fields, have dominated the headlines, smaller British companies have been making progress in education, training and engineering. Science and technology collaborations have grown from £1m to £100m over the past three years. The British Council has trained a million English language teachers in India in preparation for an expected boom in the country's education sector. Mark Runacres, former deputy British High Commissioner and now secretary of Delhi's British Business Group, cited the example of A4E, which has won Indian government contracts to train poor labourers for skilled jobs in hospitality, health care, retail and construction. He also said UK services group Serco had won bus operator contracts in Gujarat. Adrian Mutton, founder of Sannam S4, a company set up in India in 2008 to help British firms find new markets and establish operations in India, said he was helping a consortium of 32 Further Education Colleges to negotiate joint ventures to bring vocational training for plumbers, electricians, engineers, and carpenters to help India plug its 500m people "skills gap."