Britain is keen to have closer contact with the health services in India, the financial secretary in British Treasury, Stephen Timms, has said.
"The National Health Service (NHS) has recently secured a big contract in Mumbai," Timms said while addressing the World Punjabi Organisation's Annual dinner in London on Sunday night. However, he did not elaborate on the contract.
Timms was all praise for the entrepreneurship of Punjabis and said: "Our economy is better because of the Punjabi community."
Referring to outsourcing of jobs to India from the United Kingdom, he said though job losses were a matter of concern, the remedy did not lie in 'protectionism.'
"The world economy is getting more and more globalised and outsourcing is part of it," he said.
A P S Chawla, Chairman, WPO, UK, said: "We want to make the youth of the NRI community, particularly Punjabi community, proud of their heritage and culture."
Among those present on the occasion were Lord Daljit Rana, honorary Consul General of India in Ireland, Keith Vaz, MP, former minister, Lord Navnit Dholakia, President of the Liberal Democrats, Atma Singh, Asian Advisor to the Mayor of London Ken Livingstone and K S Bharadwaj, Counsellor, Press, in the Indian High Commission.