The Awards given out at the ICM are one of the most attractive features of the Congress from the point of view of the public at large. The Fields Medal, the Nevanlinna Prize and the Gauss Prize are given out at these ICMs. At Hyderabad, a new prize called the Chern Prize, named after S S Chern, a well known figure in geometry in the twentieth century, will also be awarded for the first time to an individual whose lifelong outstanding achievements in mathematics warrant the highest level of recognition. A onetime 'Lilavati' Award, named after the daughter of legendary astronomer and mathematician Bhaskaracharya, will also be given to an individual recognised for contributions towards popularization of mathematics. The Fields Medal is considered by the mathematical community as an equivalent of the Nobel Prize. The medals are awarded, once in four years at the inaugural function of the Congresses. The prize is administered by an international organization - the International Mathematical Union (IMU).

The ICM is built around 200 invited talks: about 20 plenary one-hour lectures in diverse mathematical areas addressed to the mathematical community at large given by eminent figures responsible for the very evolution of the area; and the rest - sectional talks - by outstanding experts addressed to other experts. At the Hyderabad Congress there will be two plenary talks by Indians and seven sectional talks. Public out-reach talks are by Professors Martin Groetschel and Guenter Ziegler of Germany and Bill Barton from New Zealand. Special events such as non-technical talks connected with promotion of mathematics as well as cultural programmes will also be held during the Congress.

Another new feature of the Hyderabad Congress will be a 2-day meeting styled 'International Congress of Women Mathematicians' which will focus attention on women in mathematics. The initiative for holding this comes from the organization 'European Women in Mathematics'. This is the first meeting of its kind. Prior to the ICM, the General Assembly of IMU will also meet in Bangalore on 16-17 August 2010.

The year 2010 is significant for mathematics. It marks the centenary of the founding of the Indian Mathematical Society, while a second mathematical society - the Ramanujan Mathematical Society will be celebrating its Silver Jubilee.

The Department of Atomic Energy and the University of Hyderabad are partially funding the ICM along with Department of Science and Technology.