Padma awards for 112 notable personalities
New Delhi: Spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, legendary actor Rajinikanth, sportspersons Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza are among the 112 notable personalities to get Padma awards in 2016.
Late industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, former chief vigilance commissioner Vinod Rai, actor Anupam Kher and late spiritual leader Swami Dayanand Saraswati were also on the awardee list announced by the government on Monday.
This year, President Pranab Mukherjee will confer 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri awards on people from different walks of life.
As many as 19 awardees are women and 10 are foreigners, non-resident Indians and People of Indian Origin (including one posthumous). Four of those on the honour list are posthumous awardees.
The awardees of Padma Vibhushan – the second highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna – are Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, Rajinikanth, Dhirubhai Ambani, Bharatnatyam and Kuchipudi dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi, classical vocalist Girija Devi, media baron Ramoji Rao, cancer specialist Dr Vishwanathan Shanta, former Jammu and Kashmir governor Jagmohan, former Defence Research and Development Organisation chief Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre (science and engineering) and Indian-American economist Avinash Dixit.
Former chief vigilance commissioner Vinod Rai, actor Anupam Kher, sportspersons Saina Nehwal and Sania Mirza and late spiritual leader Swami Dayanand Saraswati are among the 19 personalities to get Padma Bhushan.
Others who will get Padma Bhushan award, announced by the government on Monday, are Udit Narayan Jha (art-playback singing), Ram V. Sutar (art-sculpture), Heisnam Kanhailal (art-theatre), Dr Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad (literature and education), Prof N.S. Ramanuja Tatacharya (literature and education), Dr Barjinder Singh Hamdard (literature and education – journalism), Prof D. Nageshwar Reddy (medicine-gastroenterology), Swami Tejomayananda (other-spiritualism), Hafeez Contractor (others-architecture), Ravindra Chandra Bhargava (public affairs), Dr Venkata Rama Rao Alla (science and engineering), Indu Jain (trade and industry), Robert Blackwill (public affairs) and Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (trade and industry).
As many as 83 personalities will be awarded Padma Shri.
Among them are Prathibha Prahlad (art-classical dance), Bhikhudan Gadhvi (art-folk music), Sribhas Chandra Supakar (art-textile designing), Ajay Devgn (art-cinema), Priyanka Chopra (art-cinema), Pt. Tulsidas Borkar (art-classical music), Dr Soma Ghosh (art-classical vocal), Nila Madhab Panda (art-film direction and production), S.S. Rajamouli (art-film direction and production), Madhur Bhandarkar (art-film direction and production), Prof M. Venkatesh Kumar (Art-Folk Artist), Gulabi Sapera (art-folk dance), Mamta Chandrakar (art-folk music), Malini Awasthi (art-folk music), Jai Prakash Lekhiwal (art-miniature painting), K. Laxma Goud (art-painting), Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe (art-photography), Naresh Chander Lal (art-theatre and cinema), Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah (literature and education), Prahlad Chandra Tasa (literature and education), Dr Ravindra Nagar (literature and education), Dahyabhai Shastri (literature and education), Santeshivara Bhyrappa (literature and education), Haldar Nag (literature and education), Kameshwaram Brahma (literature and education-journalism), Prof Pushpesh Pant (literature and education-journalism) among others. (IANS)