The National Industrial Excellence Awards Ceremony was held under the patronage of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Waters Edge in Battaramulla, yesterday (Feb. 15). The outstanding performers received the Platinum Award from the President at the Awards Ceremony for the categories of best small, medium and large-scale manufacturing industries and the best machinery manufacturers. At the Award ceremony, gold, silver and bronze awards were presented to 20 large, small- and medium-scale industries. Three industry luminaries and three public sector companies were also honoured with the Special Recognition Award for their contribution to the automotive industry. Minister of Industries Wimal Weerawansa pointed out that the President was elected to power with the belief of preserving our heritage and the government has a responsibility to uplift the local industries and to continue to act on that belief. The Minister also said that at present local industries are being revived more vigorously than ever. The Minister of Industries said that the current challenge has come as a blessing to the local industrialist and that all problems can be solved through an economy that advances the local industries by building a strong entrepreneurship. The Awards Ceremony is organized annually by the Industrial Development Board under the supervision of the Ministry of Industries with the aim of promoting industries in Sri Lanka. A total of 117 outstanding applicants were selected as winners from the crafts submitted to the ‘Industries Sri Lanka - 2022’ National Handicrafts Exhibition and through the competition which was held to select the best entrepreneur covering the nine provinces. Secretary to the Ministry Daya Ratnayake, Chairman of the Industrial Development Board Upasena Dissanayake and award recipients were also present at the occasion. -PMD