[4] In 1919, a committee chaired by the Marquess of Crewe determined there existed the need to separate the agency work of the India Office from its other political and administrative roles, and recommended the transfer of all such work to "a High Commissioner for India or some similar Indian Governmental Representative in London."

[5] The Government of India Act 1919 upheld the recommendations of the committee, making provision for "the appointment of a High Commissioner by His Majesty by Order in Council, which might delegate to the official any of the contractual powers of the Secretary of State [for India] in Council, and prescribe the conditions, under which he should act on behalf of the Government of India or any Provincial Government."

The first High Commissioner for India was Indian Civil Service officer Sir William Stevenson Meyer; the first of Indian origin was Sir Dadiba Merwanji Dalal.

[3] It was formally inaugurated on 8 July 1930 by the King-Emperor George V.[3] A bust of Jawaharlal Nehru was unveiled by Prime Minister John Major in 1991.

[3] There are twelve emblems on the outside of the building representing the various provinces of India (during the British Raj), described as follows:[6]