India, July 18 -- A leading Indian-origin academic in the field of psychiatry, Swaran Singh, and London Mayor Sadiq Khan have been conferred with peerages ahead of Keir Starmer's Downing Street exit as British prime minister next week.

Starmer, who announced his decision to step down as Labour Party leader last month, will have an audience with King Charles III on Monday to formalise his resignation and make way for Andy Burnham to take charge as the new prime minister.

As is customary, the government forwards the names for the monarch to confer political peerages as part of a resignation honours process at the departure of a prime minister.

However, Downing Street indicated that the 26 new members who will be entering the House of Lor...