In News
- The Padma awards are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day.
- A total of 106 Padma Awards with six Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan, and 91 Padma Shri conferred across various categories.
- The awards are presented by the President of India.
What are Padma Awards?
- About:
- Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honors of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day after the Bharat Ratna.
- The Award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
- The total number of awards to be given in a year (excluding posthumous awards and to NRI/foreigners/OCIs) should not be more than 120.
- The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardees’ name.
- Categories: The Awards are given in three categories:
- Padma Vibhushan is awarded for ‘exceptional and distinguished service;
- Padma Bhushan is awarded for ‘distinguished service of a high order’; and
- Padma Shri is awarded for ‘distinguished service’.
- Eligibility:
- All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards.
- The award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the Government could consider giving an award posthumously.
- A higher category of Padma award can be conferred on a person only where a period of at least five years has elapsed since conferment of the earlier Padma award. However, in highly deserving cases, a relaxation can be made by the Awards Committee.
- Nominations for the awards:
- All nominations are placed before the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members. The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.
- Background:
- The Government of India instituted two civilian awards-Bharat Ratna & Padma Vibhushan in 1954.
- The Padma Vibhushan had three classes namely Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri in 1955.
List of Awardees in 2023
Padma Vibhushan (6)
- Shri Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous) (Others – Architecture)
- Shri Zakir Hussain (Art)
- Shri S M Krishna (Public Affairs)
- Shri Dilip Mahalanabis (Posthumous) (Medicine)
- Shri Srinivas Varadhan (Science & Engineering)
- Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav (Posthumous) (Public Affairs)
Padma Bhushan(9)
- Shri S L Bhyrappa (Literature & Education)
- Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla (Trade & Industry)
- Shri Deepak Dhar (Science & Engineering)
- Ms. Vani Jairam (Art)
- Swami Chinna Jeeyar (Others – Spiritualism)
- Ms. Suman Kalyanpur (Art)
- Shri Kapil Kapoor (Literature & Education)
- Ms. Sudha Murty (Social Work)
- Shri Kamlesh D Patel (Others – Spiritualism)
And 91 Padma shri awards were conferred in different fields.
Unsung Heros who were Conferred Padma Awards
|
Previous article
National Tourism Day
Next article
Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) 2023