UK minister calls for speedier India-UK healthcare innovation

London: Britain and India must move beyond healthcare breakthroughs to ensure innovations benefit patients at scale, UK Health Minister James Frith has said.

In an address to the annual 'Westminster Diwali' gathering organised by India Global Forum (IGF) in London this week, the minister in the Department of Health and Social Care highlighted progress over 100 days since the bilateral Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) was implemented in mid-July.

He identified a gap between scientific discovery and real-world adoption as one of the biggest challenges facing healthcare systems across both countries.


"The next great challenge in healthcare innovation is not simply discovery, but adoption," said Frith.

"We know how to innovate. What we have too often struggled to do is to take what works and make it work everywhere.

"India brings extraordinary strengths in digital innovation and delivery at population scale. Britain brings world-leading research, life sciences and the unique strengths of our NHS. Together, we have an opportunity not simply to invent the future of healthcare, but to make it work for everyone."

His remarks came as senior figures from across government, business and diplomacy gathered for the festivities in central London.

"The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement is now in force, and it is on us to turn that promise into reality and opportunity," Indian High Commissioner to the UK P Kumaran said in his address.

Kumaran went on to point to India's expanding manufacturing capabilities, rising entrepreneurial ambition and growing ability to translate research into commercial innovation among the key opportunities for a strengthening India-UK partnership.

IGF Founder Manoj Ladwa added: "In a world of uncertainty, fragmentation and shifting supply chains, the question is no longer just who we trade with, but who we trust.

"Trusted partnerships are no longer a choice. They are a strategy. The UK-India trade agreement marks a defining step in strengthening that trust and shaping our shared economic future."

The Diwali reception followed IGF's Westminster Dialogues 2026, themed around 'Social Value, Public Services and the UK-India Partnership' and bringing together policymakers and business leaders to examine opportunities for deeper cooperation in public services and economic development.