Manchester businesses are calling for a direct flight to India to boost the economy.

Securing a route to one of India’s major cities, such as Mumbai or Delhi, would strengthen developing ties between the two destinations according to Tim Newns, chief executive of MIDAS, Manchester’s inward investment agency.

Speaking at the India - UK Economic Relations Conference, the investment boss said that as relationships between the UK and India develop, Indian businesses are increasingly seeing the benefits of choosing Manchester as a base of operations.

He said: "India is a high priority market for Manchester in terms of both inward investment and outbound export, in addition to education and tourism.

"After a number of years working in market to promote the mutual benefits of increasing India-Manchester ties, it’s encouraging to see that these relationships are gathering momentum.

“Now, with Manchester having been chosen by major Indian companies like HCL and Hero Cycles, Indian business leaders are increasingly turning their attention to Manchester.

"As MIDAS continues to develop relationships with partners across Manchester and India to ensure this pace of development continues, it might not be long before there is positive news about direct flights between Manchester and a major Indian city.”

His call was backed by Manchester businesses who are looking for a base in the major Indian cities.

Social media marketing agency Social Chain are increasingly tempted by an Indian office, as they roll out internationally.

Co-founder Dom McGregor said: "As a business expanding globally, India has always been on the horizon as a potential expansion for Social Chain.

"The market is constantly growing and by 2020 the average age of the Indian population will be 29, businesses like ours which target millennials need to consider the market.

"Similar to how there is now a direct route to San Francisco, Manchester continues to grow as a tech hub globally. Having a direct route to India can only add to this as they, in my opinion, will be a digitally focused economy in the coming years.

"For Manchester this will continue to cement its position as a global hub for tech and start up business for years to come."

The CII UK conference brought senior business leaders from India to the UK for a three day agenda including meetings with UK government, business and university representatives.

Tim was joined by a delegation of Manchester business leaders, attending the event to promote the benefits of Manchester as a leading European business location, and communicate the long-term objectives of the Manchester-India agenda.

The Manchester delegation included representatives from BDP, Clyde & Co, Deliotte, EV Group, Manchester Airports Group, Manchester Metropolitan University, PWC, Slater Heelis, University of Salford, and Vernacare.

Another Manchester-based business set to reap the benefits is big data analytics firm Hello Soda.

The company has offices in Texas, Bangkok and India, meaning it is able to provide a global, 24/7 service to customers.

On the prospect of a direct flight CEO James Blake said: "At Hello Soda we are big believes that Manchester is a global city, and we are excited by any direct connections to growing markets.

"Quite obviously India is a key focus for any tech business, being one of the global powerhouses. Therefore we are excited about any opportunities to improve our communications with one of our fastest growing markets."

Julian Carr, aviation director for Manchester Airport, added: “Securing direct flights to major Indian cities remains a key priority for the airport and we continue to have commercial discussions with airlines.

“The existing volume of indirect passenger journeys to India from within our catchment area confirms the viability of direct flights. The introduction of such services would provide vital connectivity for the business community and the large Indian population in the North of England.”