UK Business Secretary Lord Peter Mandelson on Friday sought to allay concerns on the changes to the country's migration rules, saying the route to Britain for skilled and qualified workers and investors would remain open. 

Launching the Indian Institute of Science-UK lecture series 2010, he said all the major Indian IT players now operate in the UK, which also wants to make sure that Britain is the country of choice for new innovative Indian firms when they position themselves for the European market or establish a European research and development presence. 

"I know that there are concerns among some in India that changes to the UK's migration system might put this at risk," Mandelson said. "But I can guarantee you that while we do have to guard the system against abuse, the route to Britain for skilled and qualified Indian workers and investors will remain open."

He also said the UK is increasingly keen to partner with India on publicly funded development research.

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