Five Padma Vibhushan, seventeen Padma Bhushan and hundred-and-ten Padma Shri Awards were approved for conferment by President Droupadi Murmu on outstanding achievers and contributors, which included 30 women, and eight foreigners, NRIs and Persons of Indian Origin. Other than that, the Union Home Ministry said late Thursday night that nine of them received the awards posthumously.

After the awards were made public, Union Home Minister Amit Shah posted on social media ‘X’, “ I extend my warmest congratulations to the change makers of our society who have been selected for the Padma Awards for their distinguished contributions to different fields”.

He said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has rationalized the Padma Awards ceremony to make it a platform to appreciate individuals setting pioneering examples for social change. The individuals conferred with the Padma Awards have not only created brilliant examples for others to follow but also have elevated the pride of the nation with their service, he observed.

Of the five highest Padma Vibhushan Awards, two have gone to artists from Tamil Nadu -- Vyjayanthimala Bali, a well-known veteran Indian actress, dancer, and parliamentarian, and classical dancer Dr Padma Subrahmanyam, who acquired recent fame by bringing to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s notice about Sengol which was installed in new parliament building, signifying the transfer of power from Britain to India in 1947.

Former Vice President of India and senior BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu and Tollywood actor-cum-producer Konidela Chiranjeevi, both belonging to Andhra Pradesh, were bestowed with Padma Vibhushans. Bindeshwar Pathak, known for introducing a chain of clean and affordable public toilets in the country, was also handed over the the award but posthumously.

Former Governor of Tamil Nadu, M Fathima Beevi, figured in the list of 17 persons who would be handed over the Padma Bhushan Awards. The list of politicians getting the honours in this segment also includes Ram Naik, Satyabrata Mookherjee, and Olanchery Rajagopal -- all three are former Union Ministers and BJP leaders.

Founder of Jindal Aluminum Ltd, Sitaram Jindal’s name also found a mention among the Padma Bhushan awardees, and so are popular Bollywood personalities -- actor Mithun Chakraborty and singer Usha Uthup.

In the Padma Shri Awards category, thirty-four are unsung heroes as the government acknowledged their exceptional contribution in different fields including medicine, social work, agriculture, dance, music, storytelling, tribal welfare, and environment. None of them, interestingly, are less than 50 years old, and the most aged is a centenarian, a glimpse of the Padma Shri award list released by MHA revealed.

Parbati Baruah, 67, who had been described as “Hathi ki Pari”, is India’s first female elephant mahout, inheriting the skill from her father at the very early age of 14. She has managed to address the human-elephant conflict with the help of the application of scientific practices, the citation on her award read.

Jageshwar Yadav, a tribal welfare worker from Jashpur in Chhattisgarh, is another person picked up for the award for dedicating his life to the upliftment of marginalized Birhor and Pahadi Korwa people, said the Ministry.

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