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Ace musician AR Rahman has been awarded the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2009.

In a glittering ceremony held in New Delhi, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh presented Rahman the award.

Rahman was also declared the recipient of the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2009 in the Entertainment category. He was awarded for his manifold achievements for putting India on the global entertainment map with his wins at the Golden Globe and Oscar Awards 2009.

Legendary sitar artist and composer Bharat Ratna Pt Ravi Shankar was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement award, for his truly global musical spirit and unparallel achievements that have risen above cultural and national barriers, finding millions of admirers.

Another important highlight of the event was the Special Achievement award that was given to veteran actor Kamal Haasan for being India’s most versatile, and arguably one of the greatest actors on the Indian screens in a career spanning 50 years.

The Special Achievement award was also given to the Indian Test Cricket team for becoming the world’s best test team and achieving unprecedented consistency in their performance in all three forms of the game. Representing the Indian team, some of its brightest stars, including three former captains Anil Kumble, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly who have substantially contributed in achieving the number one status, were present on the occasion along with VVS Laxman.

A young politician who combines charisma, vision and political astuteness that belies his youth, Rahul Gandhi won the title of CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 2008 - Politics. He has been recognised for his consistent effort to give a new vision to politics in Uttar Pradesh and being the chief architect of the Congress Party’s victory and inspiring youth to join politics.

Displaying passion and commitment for corporate brand India and setting out to achieve a task that many considered to be impossible, the Satyam Revival Team consisting of Kiran Karnik, Deepak S Parekh, C Achuthan, Tarun Das, T N Manoharan and S Balkrishna Mainak was the unanimous choice for CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 09 in Business Category.

Badminton ace, Saina Nehwal, emerged as the winner in the Sports Category for her consistent wins in some of the most prominent international tournaments and fuelling the ambitions of sporting excellence and achievement in millions of Indians.

Pratham, the largest NGO working to provide quality education to the underprivileged children of India, was the proud recipient of the prestigious CNN-IBN Indian of the Year 09 award in the Public Service Category.