MUMBAI: As part of 60 years of Indian Independence celebrations, CNN-IBN is instituting an annual award CNN-IBN Indian of the Year. This will recognise the Indians whose contribution to the country in 2006 has strengthened the social foundation and helped build brand India in the process. The objective is to create the highest, non-governmental, civilian award conferred on an individual. Additionally, it will provide both a national and international platform to recognise, showcase and revere Indian achievements across different walks of life.

The awards will salute the best and the most dynamic Indian icons across six main categories: Politics, business, entertainment, sports, public service and NRI. Votes from the public and the electoral college, both holding equal weightage, will then decide the most superlative candidate to be the Indian of the Year!

CNN-IBN and IBN 7 editor-in-chief Rajdeep Sardesai said, “We at CNN-IBN feel that many Indians and their accomplishments often go unnoticed and so we took it upon ourselves to create an award that would do just the contrary. The CNN-IBN Indian of the Year award will not only recognise, but also felicitate such achievers. The sheer credibility of the channel as well as the involvement of great personalities in the thorough selection process will lend immense authority to this title.”

CNN-IBN and IBN 7 national sales head Sanjay Dua says, “CNN-IBN Indian of the Year is a property that I am confident brands will find this platform very attractive and lucrative. They will find a sense of pride in being associated with such a prestigious title as it represents Indian achievements across various disciplines, and takes it to an international level”.

The Judiciary council in concurrence with the TV 18 Editorial Group will undertake the preliminary step of generating a list of prospective nominees for each category. The Council is an elite club of five Padma awardees: Padma Shri Geet Sethi, six times World’s Billards Champion; Padma Vibhushan Soli Sorabjee, former Attorney General of India; Padma Bhushan Nandan Nilekani, CEO of Infosys Technologies; Padma Bhushan Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC and Padma Shri Kiran Bedi, a Magsaysay award recipient.

Electing winners for each group will be a three-tier process involving the Judiciary Council, the Electoral College and the citizens of India. The Electoral College, composed of 250 eminent citizens, each recognised in their respective fields, will vote for their chosen aspirant(s). The process of Vox Populi will be conducted simultaneously, through two means: ibnlive.com – for online casting of the citizen’s franchise and 2622 – voting through people’s mobile phones. Both, the Electoral College and the Indian public will be assigned 50 per cent of the vote weightage in determining winners from within every category.

The Indian of the Year besides being bestowed with this exalted title will also receive a trophy provided by Swarovski CCB at an event held in Delhi on 6 February.