The Central government announced Padma Awards on the eve of Republic Day that Padma Subrahmanyam, a Bharatanatyam dancer, actors Chiranjeevi and Vyjayanthimala Bali, and former vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu will receive Padma Vibhushan, the nation’s second highest civilian honor. The prize will be given posthumously to Sulabh International founder Bindeshwar Pathak.
Posthumous Padma Bhushans were awarded to late actor Vijayakant, M. Fathima Beevi, the first female judge to be appointed to the Supreme Court of India, Satyabrata Mookherjee, the former president of the Bharatiya Janata Party in West Bengal, and Togdan Rinpoche, the spiritual head of the Drikung Kagyu Tradition in Ladakh.
Additionally, Young Liu, the chairman of Foxconn Group in Taiwan, received a Padma Bhushan.
Padma Bhushans this year include actor Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup, BJP leader from Kerala O. Rajagopal, cardiologist Tejas Madhusudan Patel, BJP veteran Ram Naik, former governor of Uttar Pradesh, senior publisher Hormusji N. Cama, head of the Gujarati newspaper Bombay Samachar, industrialist Sita Ram Jindal, veteran Marathi film director Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo, Hindi music director Pyarelal Sharma (of the Laxmikant-Pyarelal duo), and senior journalist Kundan Vyas.
34 people were selected to receive Padma Shri honors for their “unsung and unique” contributions. Padma Shri honorees this year include Mizoram’s Sanghthankima, who oversees the largest orphanage in Aizawl, K. Chellamal, an organic farmer from South Andaman, and tribal environmentalist Dukhu Majhi from Purulia, West Bengal.
The Padma Shri honours went to tennis player Rohan Bopanna, para badminton coach Gaurav Khanna, para swimmer Satendra Singh Lohia, hockey player Harbinder Singh, Mallakhamb practitioner Uday Deshpande, archer Purima Mahtao, and senior squash player Joshna Chinappa.
The President authorized the awarding of 132 Padma prizes for 2024, an increase from the 106 prizes given out the previous year. There are 110 Padma Shri, 17 Padma Bhushan, and five Padma Vibhushan honors on the list. The list contains nine individuals from the category of “Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI” in addition to nine posthumous honorees, even though thirty of the recipients are women.
The “change-makers” who were chosen for the Padma awards for their outstanding contributions to various disciplines were congratulated by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
Mr. Shah wrote on X, saying, “The Padma Awards ceremony has been rationalized by PM Shri @narendramodi Ji to honor individuals who are leading the way in social change.” By their service, the recipients of the Padma Awards have not only raised the national pride but also set an excellent example for others to follow.
