A British-Indian entrepreneur and founder of an ethnic minority-focused marketing agency has been conferred the Freedom of the City of London honour for his contributions to the financial hub of the UK capital.
The honour is steeped in history and traditionally the recognition gave a "Freeman" the right to trade in the Square Mile or financial heart of London.
A previous Indian recipient of the honour is Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of India, and other prominent recipients include South African leader Nelson Mandela and Microsoft founder Bill Gates.
The tradition of conferring the title is believed to have started in 1237.
Before 1996, the Freedom of the City was only open to British or Commonwealth Citizens and has since been extended globally and persons of any nationality may be admitted.