March 22: The eighth edition of the Newbiz Business Conclave and Awards has kicked off in the capital amid a grand function today (Friday).

Chief Guest of the event, Minister for Industry, Commerce and Supplies Damodar Bhandari, Madan Lamsal, chairman of New Business Age and Gopalkrishnan G, the country director of Asian Paints, the title sponsor of the event, jointly inaugurated the conclave and awards ceremony by lighting a lamp.

The event will feature panel discussion as well as award distribution in various categories in recognition to the contributions made by the business sector. The panel discussion will delve on the topic of 'Business Opportunities in Difficult Times'.

The speakers during the panel discussion will be Amlan Mukherjee, Managing Director of Unilever Nepal Limited, Anand Bagaria, Managing Director of Nimbus Holding Pvt Ltd and Sewa Pathak, Chief Executive Officer of Vianet Communications.

The panel discussion will be facilitated by Ranjit Acharya, Chief Executive Officer of Prisma Advertising. Manab Majumdar, Senior Advisor to Federation of Indian Industry and Commerce (FICCI), will give a keynote speech during the program.

Under the program, awards will be distributed in 11 different categories, including 10 institutional categories and one lifetime achievement award. According to the organizer, Lifetime Achievement Award will be given to a person who has contributed for a long time in the field of business.

Similarly, awards will be distributed under the categories of 'Best Managed Company of the Year', 'Premium Hotel of the Year', 'Best Hospital of the Year', 'Best Managed Commercial Bank of the Year', 'Best Managed Development Bank of the Year', 'Best Managed Finance Company of the Year', 'Best Life Insurance Company of the Year', and 'Best Non-Life Insurance Company of the Year'.

According to the organizers, a panel of independent jury comprising experts from various fields have selected the organizations and individuals who will receive the award. The selection was done after a rigorous and phase-wise evaluation.

Other sponsors of the event are NIC Asia Bank, Tiago EV, Nabil Bank, National Life Insurance, Rastriya Banijya Bank, Asian Life Insurance, Nepal Insurance Authority, smartphone company MI, NLG Insurance, Prabhu Bank and Sonam Gear. The internet partner of the program is DishHome Fiber Net and the TV partner is Himalaya TV. Vogue Ad and Event Management is in charge of program management.