Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be felicitated at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) for her contribution to global cinema.

IFFM is Australia's biggest annual celebration of Indian cinema. Celebrating India at 70!' as a part of the festival's celebration of Indian cinema, Aishwarya will be hoisting the Indian national flag at Melbourne's Federation Square. She will be the first Indian woman to do so.

The actress will also be felicitated by the Victorian Government at the Westpac IFFM Awards night on August 11.

"The Indian film festival of Melbourne is honoured to welcome Aishwarya Rai Bachchan as our much loved guest to IFFM this year.She's a global icon and extremely loved by the audiences in Australia..it will be a proud moment for all Indians when she becomes the first Indian woman to hoist the national flag at the pulse point of Melbourne - the Federation Square," Mitu Bhowmick Lange, Festival Director, said in a statement.

Bhowmick added: "In light of her incredible contribution to world cinema she will be felicitated by the government which we are all looking forward to."