Rajiv Gandhi Awards is a tribute to the legendary Lt. Prime Minister, on his birth anniversary. Mr. Charan Singh Sapra - MLC who initiated these awards in 1995, continues to keep alive the vision of a man, who thought ahead of its times and dreamed of a sound, advanced and talented India. More than a decade old these awards have become an annual feature & the biggest honour our country can bestow upon anybody. This premium platform honours the successful Indian Diaspora globally for their outstanding contribution in diverse fields such as Industry, Sports, Education, Entertainment, Journalism etc.
Previous recipients of the awards are Salman Khan, Shilpa Shetty, Kapil Dev, Shekhar Gupta, Sunita Williams, Padmashree Dr. D.Y.Patil, Mukesh Ambani, Kumar Manglam Birla, Adi Godrej, Anand Mahindra, Barkha Dutt, M.F. Husain, Lt. Naushad Sahab, Sachin Tendulkar, Sania Mirza, Aishwarya Rai, Shahrukh Khan, Ajay Devgan, Rani Mukherjee, Hrithik Roshan, Akshay Kumar and many more.
Charan Singh Sapra, MLC & convener of the Rajiv Gandhi Awards shared some information on this year's awardees: Best Actor - Saif Ali Khan, Best Actress - Lara Duta, Child Prodigy - Master Darsheel Safary (Tare Zameen Par fame), Super Achiever Wrestler par excellence -Dalip Singh Rana (The Great Khali), who recently won the admiration of all recently upon his India visit, Global Indian- Malkit Singh (UK) the evergreen Punjabi singer who received MBE award by the Queen (UK), Innovative Marketing -Mehul Choksi, Social Field -Anna Hazare, Sports - Baichung Bhutia , Educationist - Sunny Varkey, Young Enterpreuner - Sameer Gehlaut, Women Achiever - Vandana Luthra, Industrialist - Baba Kalyani, Journalism - Vir Sanghvi.
Like every year the event will be witnessed by dignitaries like The Information & Broadcasting Minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi, General Secretary AICC Digvijay Singh, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Union Minister Murli Deora, Shri. Gurudas Kamat (M. P.), Co-ordinator AICC Rajiv Shukla, Milind Deora (M. P.), Priya Dutt (M. P.), Eknath Gaikwad (M. P.), Govinda Ahuja (M. P.) amongst others.
The 11th Annual Rajiv Gandhi Awards - 2008, to be held on Aug 17, at the NCPA, Mumbai would reach millions of audiences across the globe by way of an International telecast through Sony TV, S Max & SAB TV, like yesteryears. Variety entertainment interspersed between the awards would further enhance mass viewing globally.
This prestigious award will be embellished by the performances of Salman Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, coupled with a much awaited patriotic act by Rakhi Sawant & Comic act by Kamya & Rajiv who are famous for their instant comedy circus and many more. The event put together by "Momentum Group" will be telecasted on prime time Sony TV at 8:00 pm on Sunday, August 31, 2008 says, "Aarti Mattoo ' Event Director Rajiv Gandhi Awards Committee"