According to Grant Thornton UK LLP's India Tracker 2014 report, the Indian companies are playing a vital role in the growth of British economy by contributing to the GDP and creating employment opportunities.

The report is prepared in colloboration with the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). The report was compiled after monitoring those UK registered businesses which had ultimate Indian parent companies and identifying the fastest growing corporates based on turnover and employment size.

The report revealed that there are currently over 700 Indian-owned small to large-sized businesses in the UK which employ over 100,000 individuals.

Out of these, 41 organizations registered annual growth of over 10 percent, with around 20 organizations registering a splendid growth of over 20 percent. These top 41 companies have also generated revenue of around 19 billion pounds.

"The appetite and opportunities for successful UK investment by Indian companies remains as strong as ever. In light of sluggish growth potential in India, investors are increasingly eager to enter or scale up their UK operations as the British economy re-enters a growth phase," Anuj Chande, partner and head of the South Asia Group at Grant Thornton UK LLP, said.

The report was launched by Ranjan Mathai who is high commissioner of India to the UK, earlier this week at an exclusive dinner where some of highest Indian origin business achievers were invited.

"I am very pleased that this research has been conducted to show the strength of Indian investment and the range of business in which they have invested in the UK. This complements the UKTI statistics of India being the 5th largest investor in the UK last year,” Mathai said.

"The pharmaceutical/chemical and technology/telecom sectors represent over half of the organizations in the Top 41 (22% and 32%, respectively); although the automotive, transport and engineering and manufacturing sectors are also strongly represented," he added.

In a survey which highlights lack of knowledge about World War I, over 1 in 4 Indians answered that India fought against the UK in the great war.

The survey was undertaken by YouGov on behalf of the British Council as part of its commemoration to mark 100 years of the war. The survey's target audience included adult populations of Egypt, France, Germany, India, Russia, Turkey and the UK. The objective of the survey was to check the knowledge surrounding the war.

India which was part of the imperial Britain contributed around 1.4 million soldiers to the British forces which made it one of the largest voluntary army in the Europe. Moreover, around 1,00,000 Indians were wounded or killed while fighting for the British cause.

"When asked which country India was fighting for, 27% assumed that the country was fighting against the UK. The largest contribution to Britain's war effort came from India. The total number of Indian troops amounted to some 1.4-1.5 million men, serving in France, East Africa, Mesopotamia and Egypt," the report said.

Many Indians also didn't knew that Mahatma Gandhi's first civil disobedience campaign was due to disillusionment with the British authorities who Gandhi believed should have honored the contribution of 1.5 million men with transition to the self government.

"Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah assumed that Britain would honour India's contribution to the war with a transition to self-government. Their expectations were dashed in November 1918 with the extension of martial law."

"In February 1919, Gandhi launched his first India-wide campaign of civil disobedience against British authority. By the outbreak of the Second World War, resistance efforts redoubled. Indian nationalists under the auspices of the 'Quit India' movement were not going to risk their lives in a British war effort twice with little tangible return," the report added.

To compile the report which is titled as "Remember The World As Well As The War", the surveyors targeted 7,488 individuals - Egypt (1,052), France (1,029), Germany (1,070), India (1,215), Russia (1,019), Turkey (1,022) and the UK (1,081).

An Indian-origin Liberal Democrat Councillor and magistrate in the East Midlands city of Derby has come under fire after posing for a photograph with an AK-47 assault rifle. His party has launched an investigation.

43 year old Ajit Atwal has since apologized but has refused to resign, claiming that demands to resign were politically motivated before the May local elections. He revealed that photo was taken during his visit to India last September.

“I put it up naively. And looking back in hindsight I shouldn't have put it up. I wish I hadn't put it up. It was a holiday snap to be honest. It was taken in my father’s house while I was in India. The gun belongs to his bodyguard,” he said.

Atwal who will be running in election this year said that the photo has been his profile picture for several months. He has removed the photo after it came to light which he blames his political rivals for.

“It has been my profile picture on my Twitter page for seven months and no-one has complained during that time. But now, in the run-up to an election on May 22, someone has told the press about it. I am absolutely convinced that whoever has done this has done so for political reasons.” he said.

Meanwhile, Paul Bayliss (Labour), Derby City Council leader, said the photograph showed “an appalling lack of judgement” on Atwal’s part.

“I think Ajit Atwal should stand down from his role as both a city councillor and a magistrate. To be considered for both positions you have to pass a fit and proper person test and I think this photograph brings this into question,” he said. “He should consider his position,” he added.