London, July 29 - Gauri Advani, head of India Group at the law firm Eversheds, has joined the board of the UK India Business Council (UKIBC).

The council announced Wednesday that Advani is among seven new entrants in its 25-member board following the appointment of former cabinet minister Patricia Hewitt, MP, as the new chair of the UKIBC - the lead British agency promoting bilateral trade, business and investment between India and Britain.

The new board members are: Clive Barker (Serco), Parvinder Bhatia (Prime Focus), Graham Cartledge (Benoy), Mathew Kirk (Vodafone), Deepak Lalwani (Astaire & Partners Stockbrokers), and Roy Newey (A4E).

'India is an important market with an exciting future ahead and I look forward to contributing towards the UKIBC initiatives to promote bilateral trade, business and investment between India and the United Kingdom,' said Advani.