NRI entrepreneur Kartar Lalvani has been conferred with the Healthcare Businessman of the Year Award 2013 at the Asian Business Awards ceremony.

The founder-chairman of Vitabiotics, UK’s largest supplier of minerals and vitamin supplements to the retail trade, received the honour from UK’s Home Secretary Theresa May at a ceremony on Saturday.

The Asian Business Awards, commended Lalvani, a chemist by training, for “creating Vitabiotics in the 1970s and overseeing the company’s remarkable growth to become the UK’s largest supplier of minerals and vitamin supplements to the retail trade.”

“The company is at the forefront of scientific developments in key sectors, including nutrition and women’s health, and exports to over 100 countries,” it added.

Amit Bhatia, chief of the Swordfish group of companies and son-in-law of steel tycoon Lakshmi Mittal, was declared the Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2013.

The Lifetime Achievement Award 2013 went to Indian-origin entrepreneur Sudhir Choudhrie.

Speaking on the occasion, the British Home Secretary said that Indian students were welcome to study in the UK.

Blaming the previous Labour Government for immigration system “mess,” May said that “the bright and best students from India are welcome to study in the UK.”

In a message, the British Prime Minister David Cameron hailed the work done by Asian businessmen in the UK, adding that awards “will be an opportunity to celebrate the enormous contribution that the Asian community makes to the UK economy.”