Mallya with mother Lalitha at the banquet

London, Sept. 2: Vijay Mallya, chairman of United Breweries and Kingfisher Airlines, is often called “the Richard Branson of India”, thereby lifting him to the pedestal alongside Sir Richard Branson, the equally flamboyant founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways.

But after the manner in which Mallya stole the show at last night’s Mansion House banquet to mark the first anniversary of the UK-India Business Council, it is perhaps Branson who should be called “the Vijay Mallya of Britain”.

Mallya had a girl go round handing out red envelopes to all the 320 movers and shakers attending the banquet given by the Lord Mayor of London, David Lewis.

Gathered were high commissioners, members of the House of Lords and the Commons, billionaires and mere millionaires, big-name captains of industry and seriously glamorous women dripping with diamonds.

Earlier in the day, when the UK-India Business Council held a summit — Next Generation India: Talent, Trends, Technology — the luncheon had been hosted by Naresh Goyal’s Jet Airways, which has made a name for itself by offering a premier service on the UK-India route.

The summit had ended with a champagne reception “sponsored” (i.e. paid for) by Standard Chartered Bank, which has a new plan to target rich “global Indians”. Mallya, who arrived at the banquet last night with his mother, Lalitha, who lives in London, must have said to himself, “I’ll show them”. And he did. One Virgin senior executive opened his red envelope and could scarcely believe his eyes. “He’s has given us free tickets to India!” he cried.

All guests received a free economy class ticket, valid for a year, to travel from London to India on Kingfisher, which begins its inaugural Bangalore-Heathrow service on September 3.

Mallya left the banquet in dramatic fashion. “I need to fly back to India just now — I would like to catch our (inaugural) flight from Bangalore to Heathrow,” he announced to laughter.

By common consent, yesterday’s summit was remarkable in that it focused on how “Next Generation India” would tackle the gathering economic revolution. Taxation lawyer Sebastian Prichard Jones, of Macfarlanes LLP, did not mention the Ambanis by name but had them in mind when he said the succession had to be decided when the head of the first generation, who had created the wealth, was still alive.

Mark Henderson

Mark Henderson, CEO of Savile Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes — he turned up in a smart dinner jacket from his own company at last night’s banquet — said he had visited Calcutta and Mumbai and was serious about setting up base in India. “I am sending my senior tailors to India so they can work with local tailors,” he told The Telegraph.

Underground rules laid down by Sharon Bamford, chief executive of the UK-India Business Council, and her UK chairman, Lord (Karan) Bilimoria, some 30 speakers yesterday had to keep to a maximum of 10 minutes. Indeed, some were given only two minutes. Sonjoy Chatterjee, a senior director of ICICI Bank, observed wryly: “I have flown 10 hours to speak for 10 minutes.”

The much talked-about “reverse brain drain” really seems to be happening.

Vandana Saxena Poria, 35, has transferred from London, “where I was born and brought up”, to Pune, where she has set up “Get Through Guides”, which helps thousands of Indian students pass their international accountancy exams.

Vandana, settled in Pune for four years with her husband and two young children, has no intention of returning. “I don’t miss London at all,” she said today, as she caught a flight back to India.

There are new manifestations of wealth in India, according to Malav Shroff, whose company, Ocean Blue, began the Mumbai Boat Show last year. “All the boats were sold out last year — and this year,” he told the conference. Later, he revealed: “The rich in India are buying £40m yachts.”