Bollywood’s record-breaking singer and composer Shankar Mahadevan and fashion designer Raghavendra Rathore were among the winners of the annual 21st Century Icon Awards for 2020.
Mahadevan, awarded the Magnificent Performing Arts Award, said: "While this award is so special and it means the world to me, I think it is also important for us to focus on this deadly virus and let it not dampen our spirits.
Rathore, who won the Exquisite Art & Fashion Award, said: "I want to share that this award is a great signal for the industry and it is a huge inspiration for me."
Among some of the other 2020 winners, unveiled on social media last week, included the Competitive Sports Awards for Jamaican cricketer Chris Gayle and Argentinian polo player Adolfo Cambiaso.
“The next generation of leaders and businesses are truly inspiring and we are absolutely thrilled to be a part of their journey and continued success,” said Tarun Ghulati, Founder, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Preeti Rana, Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Squared Watermelon Ltd – the organisers behind the ceremony, which went virtual this year due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown.
The awards, devised as a celebration of dynamic entrepreneurs and successful individuals chosen from hundreds of nominations from around the world, are organised in partnership with ELITE, the London Stock Exchange Group's international business support and capital raising programme.
The panel of judges for the 2020 awards, which were transformed into a virtual setting due to the coronavirus pandemic lockdown, included a range of industry and political leaders including Baroness Sandip Verma from the House of Lords, Ibukun Adebayo from the London Stock Exchange, Hugo van Vredenburch from Goldman Sachs, David Sayer from KPMG, and curatorial expert Dr Amin Jaffer, among others.
The others who will receive their 2020 winner’s trophies in due course include:
Dedicated Stalwart Award for Mohit Burman, Vice-Chairman of Dabur India Ltd
Astute Finance & Investments Award for Christian Levett
Generous Philanthropist Award for Ajeet Singh, the founder of Guria India
Innovator Technology Award for Dhiraj Mukherjee, Co-Founder of Shazam
ELITE Rising Star Award for Raissa and Joyce de Haas, the co-founders of Double Dutch Ltd
Inspirational Icon Award for Tashi and Nungshi Malik for their mountain climbing feats
Outstanding Media & Entertainment Award for Aaron Shephard, Nick Cooke and Harry Hugo, the co-founders of Goat Agency, UK
Squared Watermelon Award for Shalini Passi, Founder of the Shalini Passi Art Foundation
Relentlessly Resolute Award for Umaru W. Ndagi of Rahma Integrated Concepts Ltd in Nigeria
Generous Philanthropist Award for Raman Kant, founder of the NEER Foundation in India
Specialist Professional Award for doctors Sunil Daga, Indranil Chakravorty, Subodh Dave, Neeraj Bala, Subarna Chakravorty and Prof. Geeta Menon of the Institute for Health Research of the British Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (BAPIO) in the UK.