• President Droupadi Murmu has approved conferment of 139 Padma awards, including seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards.  

• The awards were announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs on the eve of the 76th Republic Day.

• As many as 23 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of foreigners, NRI (Non-Resident Indians), PIO (Person of Indian Origin), OCI (Overseas Citizenship of India) and and 13 posthumous awardees.

• Former Chief Justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, chairman of Asian Institute of Gastroenterology and AIG Hospitals D. Nageshwar Reddy, Kathak dancer from Gujarat Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia, violinist Lakshminarayana Subramaniam have been awarded Padma Vibhushan. 

• Former chief of the Suzuki Motor Corporation Osamu Suzuki, folk singer Sharda Sinha and noted writer-filmmaker M.T. Vasudevan Nair have been awarded Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

• Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and Lok Sabha Speaker Manohar Joshi, former Bihar Deputy CM Sushil Modi, economist Bibek Debroy, gazal singer Pankaj Udhas have been given Padma Bhushan posthumously.

• Ram temple architect Chandrakant Sompura, hockey player P.R. Sreejesh, former SBI chairperson Arundhati Bhattacharya, recently-retired cricketer R. Ashwin are among 139 Padma awardees.

Padma Awards

• The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.

The awards are given in three categories: 

i) Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service).

ii) Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order).

iii) Padma Shri (distinguished service).

• The award seeks to recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.

• The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made.

Bharat Ratna

• Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of the country. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. It is treated on a different footing from Padma Award. 

• The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President. No formal recommendations for Bharat Ratna are necessary. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. 

When were the awards instituted?

• The government instituted two civilian awards — Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan in 1954. 

• 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.

• The award seeks to recognise works of distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements / service in all fields of activities / disciplines.

The fields include:

i) Art (includes music, painting, sculpture, photography, cinema and theatre)

ii) Social Work (includes social service, charitable service and community projects)

iii) Public Affairs (includes law, public life and politics)

iv) Science & Engineering (includes space engineering, nuclear science, information technology and research & development)

v) Trade & Industry (includes banking, economic activities, management, promotion of tourism and business)

vi) Medicine (includes medical research, distinction / specialisation in Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha, Allopathy and Naturopathy)

vii) Literature & Education (includes journalism, teaching, book composing, literature, poetry, promotion of education and literacy, and education reforms)

viii) Civil Service (includes distinction / excellence in administration by government servants)

ix) Sports (includes popular sports, adventure, mountaineering and yoga)

x) Others (fields not covered above and may include propagation of Indian culture, protection of human rights, wildlife protection and conservation).

• 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.

• The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardees’ name.

This year’s awardees:

Padma Vibhushan

1) Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy - Medicine - Telangana

2) Justice (retd.) Jagdish Singh Khehar - Public Affairs - Chandigarh

3) Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia - Art - Gujarat

4) Lakshminarayana Subramaniam - Art - Karnataka

5) M.T. Vasudevan Nair (posthumous) - Literature & Education - Kerala

6) Osamu Suzuki (posthumous) - Trade & Industry - Japan

7) Sharda Sinha (Posthumous) - Art - Bihar

Padma Bhushan

1) A. Surya Prakash - Literature & Education-Journalism - Karnataka

2) Anant Nag - Art - Karnataka

3) Bibek Debroy (posthumous) - Literature & Education - Delhi

4) Jatin Goswami - Art - Assam

5) Jose Chacko Periappuram - Medicine - Kerala

6) Kailash Nath Dikshit - Others-Archaeology - Delhi

7) Manohar Joshi (posthumous) - Public Affairs - Maharashtra

8) Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti - Trade & Industry - Tamil Nadu

9) Nandamuri Balakrishna - Art - Andhra Pradesh

10) P.R. Sreejesh - Sports - Kerala

11) Pankaj Patel - Trade & Industry - Gujarat

12) Pankaj Udhas (posthumous) - Art - Maharashtra

13) Rambahadur Rai - Literature & Education-Journalism - Uttar Pradesh

14) Sadhvi Ritambhara - Social Work - Uttar Pradesh

15) S. Ajith Kumar - Art - Tamil Nadu

16) Shekhar Kapur - Art - Maharashtra

17) Shobana Chandrakumar - Art - Tamil Nadu

18) Sushil Kumar Modi (posthumous) - Public Affairs - Bihar

19) Vinod Dham - Science and Engineering - United States

Padma Shri

1) Adwaita Charan Gadanayak - Art - Odisha

2) Achyut Ramchandra Palav - Art - Maharashtra

3) Ajay V. Bhatt - Science & Engineering - United States

4) Anil Kumar Boro - Literature & Education - Assam

5) Arijit Singh - Art - West Bengal

6) Arundhati Bhattacharya - Trade & Industry - Maharashtra

7) Arunoday Saha - Literature & Education - Tripura

8) Arvind Sharma - Literature & Education - Canada

9) Ashok Kumar Mahapatra - Medicine - Odisha

10) Ashok Laxman Saraf - Art - Maharashtra

11) Ashutosh Sharma - Science & Engineering - Uttar Pradesh

12) Ashwini Bhide Deshpande - Art - Maharashtra

13) Baijnath Maharaj - Others-Spiritualism - Rajasthan

14) Barry Godfray John - Art - Delhi

15) Begam Batool - Art - Rajasthan

16) Bharat Gupt - Art - Delhi

17) Bheru Singh Chouhan - Art - Madhya Pradesh

18) Bhim Singh Bhavesh - Social Work - Bihar

19) Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara - Art - Karnataka

20) Budhendra Kumar Jain - Medicine - Madhya Pradesh

21) C.S. Vaidyanathan - Public Affairs - Delhi

22) Chaitram Deochand Pawar - Social Work - Maharashtra

23) Chandrakant Sheth (posthumous) - Literature & Education - 

Gujarat

24) Chandrakant Sompura - Others-Architecture - Gujarat

25) Chetan E. Chitnis - Science & Engineering - France

26) David R. Syiemlieh - Literature & Education - Meghalaya

27) Durga Charan Ranbir - Art - Odisha

28) Farooq Ahmad Mir - Art - Jammu & Kashmir

29) Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid - Literature & Education - Uttar Pradesh

30) Gita Upadhyay - Literature & Education - Assam

31) Gokul Chandra Das - Art - West Bengal

32) Guruvayur Dorai - Art - Tamil Nadu

33) Harchandan Singh Bhatty - Art - Madhya Pradesh

34) Hariman Sharma - Others-Agriculture - Himachal Pradesh

35) Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale - Art - Punjab

36) Harvinder Singh - Sports - Haryana

37) Hassan Raghu - Art - Karnataka

38) Hemant Kumar - Medicine - Bihar

39) Hriday Narayan Dixit - Literature & Education - Uttar Pradesh

40) Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (posthumous - duo) - Literature & Education-Journalism - Uttarakhand

41) Inivalappil Mani Vijayan - Sports - Kerala

42) Jagadish Joshila - Literature and Education - Madhya Pradesh

43) Jaspinder Narula - Art - Maharashtra

44) Jonas Masetti - Others-Spiritualism - Brazil

45) Joynacharan Bathari - Art - Assam

46) Jumde Yomgam Gamlin - Social Work - Arunachal Pradesh

47) K. Damodaran - Others-Culinary - Tamil Nadu

48) K. L. Krishna - Literature & Education - Andhra Pradesh

49) K Omanakutty Amma - Art - Kerala

50) Kishore Kunal (posthumous) - Civil Service - Bihar

51) L. Hangthing - Others-Agriculture - Nagaland

52) Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer - Literature & Education-Journalism - 

Tamil Nadu

53) Lalit Kumar Mangotra - Literature & Education - Jammu & Kashmir

54) Lama Lobzang (posthumous) - Others-Spiritualism - Ladakh

55) Libia Lobo Sardesai - Social Work - Goa

56) M.D. Srinivas - Science and Engineering - Tamil Nadu

57) Madugula Nagaphani Sarma - Art - Andhra Pradesh

58) Mahabir Nayak - Art - Jharkhand

59) Mamata Shankar - Art - West Bengal

60) Manda Krishna Madiga - Public Affairs - Telangana

61) Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli - Literature & Education - 

Maharashtra

62) Miriyala Apparao (posthumous) - Art - Andhra Pradesh

63) Nagendra Nath Roy - Literature & Education - West Bengal

64) Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (posthumous) - Public Affairs - Uttar Pradesh

65) Naren Gurung - Art - Sikkim

66) Neerja Bhatla - Medicine - Delhi

67) Nirmala Devi - Art - Bihar

68) Nitin Nohria - Literature & Education - United States

69) Onkar Singh Pahwa - Trade and Industry - Punjab

70) P. Datchanamoorthy - Art - Puducherry

71) Pandi Ram Mandavi - Art - Chhattisgarh

72) Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai - Art - Gujarat

73) Pawan Goenka - Trade & Industry - West Bengal

74) Prashanth Prakash - Trade & Industry - Karnataka

75) Pratibha Satpathy - Literature & Education - Odisha

76) Purisai Kannappa Sambandan - Art - Tamil Nadu

77) R. Ashwin - Sports - Tamil Nadu

78) R.G. Chandramogan - Trade & Industry - Tamil Nadu

79) Radha Bahin Bhatt - Social Work - Uttarakhand

80) Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy - Art - Tamil Nadu

81) Ramdarash Mishra - Literature & Education - Delhi

82) Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar - Art - Maharashtra

83) Ratan Kumar Parimoo - Art - Gujarat

84) Reba Kanta Mahanta - Art - Assam

85) Renthlei Lalrawna - Literature & Education - Mizoram

86) Ricky Gyan Kej - Art - Karnataka

87) Sajjan Bhajanka - Trade & Industry - West Bengal

88) Sally Holkar - Trade & Industry - Madhya Pradesh

89) Sant Ram Deswal - Literature & Education - Haryana

90) Satyapal Singh - Sports - Uttar Pradesh

91) Seeni Viswanathan - Literature & Education - Tamil Nadu

92) Sethuraman Panchanathan - Science & Engineering - United States

93) Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah - Medicine - Kuwait

94) Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) - Literature & Education - 

Rajasthan

95) Shyam Bihari Agrawal - Art - Uttar Pradesh

96) Soniya Nityanand - Medicine - Uttar Pradesh

97) Stephen Knapp - Literature & Education - United States

98) Subhash Khetulal Sharma - Others-Agriculture - Maharashtra

99) Suresh Harilal Soni - Social Work - Gujarat

100) Surinder Kumar Vasal - Science & Engineering - Delhi

101) Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) - Others-Spiritualism - 

West Bengal

102) Syed Ainul Hasan - Literature & Education - Uttar Pradesh

103) Tejendra Narayan Majumdar - Art - West Bengal

104) Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi - Art - Manipur

105) Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla - Literature & Education - Gujarat

106) Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi - Literature & Education - Andhra Pradesh

107) Vasudeo Kamath - Art - Maharashtra

108) Velu Aasaan - Art - Tamil Nadu

109) Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar - Art - Karnataka

110) Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj - Others-Spiritualism - Bihar

111) Vijayalakshmi Deshamane - Medicine - Karnataka

112) Vilas Dangre - Medicine - Maharashtra

113) Vinayak Lohani - Social Work - West Bengal.

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