The 'Mozart of Madras' as he is popularly called, received the award for his contribution in the world of art and culture and for using his talents in social and charitable works, on the opening ceremony of the World Economic Forum at Davos in Switzerland on Wednesday.
Earlier, the Oscar winning music composer had also bagged two nominations at the 83rd Annual Academy Award in the original score category for his compositions in the film ‘127 hours' by Oscar winning director Danny Boyle and for the original song ‘If I rise' from the same flick.
The film ‘127 Hours' centres around the story of mountain climber Aron Ralston whose right arm remained stuck under a boulder in Utah for more than five days in 2003.
Earlier, Rahman had won his first Golden Globe award in the same category for the film ‘Slumdog Millionaire' in 2009.