Cameron visits India to boost trade ties David Cameron will next month visit India in an attempt to strengthen trade and investment ties and to address claims that tougher British visa restrictions are stopping Indian students from coming to the UK. Mr Cameron's visit comes after Britain failed last year to win a $20bn contract to supply fighter aircraft to the Indian air force and as a new report showed a sharp drop in the number of Indians studying at British universities. Official data from the Higher Education Statistics Agency showed such enrolments fell from 39,090 in 2010-11 to 29,900 in 2011-12. Overall, the growth in foreign student numbers rose by 2 per cent in 2011-12 - well under half the 5.5 per cent recorded in the previous year. Jo Beall, director of education at the British Council, said the figures, suggested that "changes to UK visa regulations may have dissuaded many students from applying." The coalition has repeatedly insisted there is no cap on foreign student numbers and that it does not wish to see them decline. Restrictions on foreign students" right to work in the UK after finishing their degrees were only introduced in 2012. Boris Johnson, London mayor, last year criticised allegedly negative Msignals on student visas being sent by ministers. Speaking on a visit to India, he said it was "crazy that we should be losing India's top talent" to universities in Australia and US. Mr Cameron is expected to reassure Indian students that they are welcome in Britain; according to James Bevan, UK high commissioner in New Delhi, the UK processes 400,000 visas a year in India and "almost 90 per cent" of those who apply receive one. The prime minister will also attempt to bolster British defence exports following New Delhi's choice of France's Dassault as its preferred bidder for a 126-aircraft contract over the UK-German-Italian-Spanish Eurofighter Typhoon.. The deal has yet to be finalised and European officials say India may in any case delay the purchase on cost grounds. Mr Cameron, meanwhile, will focus on broader commercial ties, attempting to promote sales of other defence and civil equipment such as helicopters and to encourage Indian groups such as Tata to reinforce their investments in the UK. When he visited India two years ago, Mr Cameron and Manmohan Singh, his Indian counterpart, agreed to double two-way trade by 2015, something they say they are still on track to achieve. Typhoon will not be high on the agenda, defence industry executives said. BAE and its Eurofighter partners, pan-European EADS and Italy's Finmeccanica, are loath to market the fighter jet too aggressively for fear of insulting Indian officials who favoured Dassault's Rafale. The $20bn contract is expected to take years to complete and Eurofighter executives believe their best chance is to gently remind India that they stand ready to drop their price and sell them Typhoon if negotiations with Dassault fail In fact, industry executives were said to have been unhappy about statements Mr Cameron made after India chose the Rafale, noting his suggestion that India had made a mistake risked making matters worse. Howard Wheeldon, head of policy at ADS, the UK aerospace and defence industry group, said: "I suspect that the emphasis this time will not necessarily be on defence. There is for now and until and if the French fail to come up with the goods on Rafale not much that Cameron can do on India fast jet competition.