NEW DELHI: The NDTV Indian of the Year 2007, cutting across all categories, went to the Indian Soldier, with Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh handing over the trophy to the Chief of Army Staff General Deepak Kapoor, looked on by one of the oldest surviving Param Vir Chakra awardee and also the widow of an Indian soldier.

A visibly moved Singh said that the Indian soldier embodies all the core values that are enshrined in the constitution of the country.

Singh, who himself got the special award for the politician category, which was given away by NDTV chief Dr Prannoy Roy, said he was an accidental politician who did not often sleep well because the responsibility of doing anything that would affect the lives of a billion-plus Indians was indeed a heavy one.

R K Pachauri, who heads the global panel on climate change, won the Global Indian of the Year, beating the likes of Indra Nooyi of PepsiCo and K P Singh of DLF.

The Indian of the Year for music went to, predictably, A R Rehman, who was unable to attend the ceremony but sent a pre-recorded acceptance speech, while Shahrukh Khan won the a special award and his Tamil counterpart Rajnikanth won the Best Entertainer of the Year.

The best business person of the year was given away to Mukesh Ambani by Finance Minister P Chidambaram who, asked what he was doing by way of the coming budget, quipped, "Do away with all taxes," and after a short pause, added, "appropriate all incomes!"

Ambani, on his acceptance, said that the PM must be congratulated for his endeavour of taking to economy to benefit the rural community with his outlook of "inclusive growth."

Former President Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was honoured with the Indian Leader of the Year award who most inspired the country in 2007. Kalam, asked by Barkha Dutt what he would do if he were to revisit the presidency, said, "I would electrify the Rashtrapati Bhavan (President's House) with solar power."

Incidentally, the Indian Soldier also won the Best Unsung Hero of the Year.

(Please await details)