The recipients of the Padma awards, the highest civilian awards in India, was announced by the Union Home Ministry on the eve of Republic Day on Monday.
The Padma Awards, which was started in 1954, are conferred in three categories- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. According to the Union Home Ministry, this time 29 women have been decorated with the Padma awardees. The list also includes 10 persons from categories of foreigners, NRI, PIO AND OCI, and one transgender. This year the President approved the conferment of 119 Padma Awards.
The Padma Vibhushan awardees included former Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, late singer SP Balasubrahmanyam, Belle Monappa Hegde, archaeologist BB Lal, sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo from Odisha.
Bengali author Narayan Debnath, who created iconic comic series like Bantul The Great, Nante Fante, Handa Bhonda, received the Padma Shri this year. His Handa Bhonda series earned him a record for creating the longest-running comic series.
Along with him, 105-year-old agriculturist Pappammal from Tamil Nadu’s Coimbatore also received the Padma Shri. She organically cultivates millets, pulses, and vegetables across her 2.5-acre field. Prem Chand Sharma, a 63-year-old farmer, and Chandra Shekhar Singh of Varanasi have also been awarded Padma Shri for their contribution to farming.
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Violinist Rama Swamy Annavarapu from Andhra Pradesh, Villupattu theatre art exponent Subbu Arumugam from Tamil Nadu, Bhil artist proficient in Pithora paintings Bhuri Bai, artist Puranamasi Jani from Odisha, transgender folk artist Matha B Manjamma Jogati from Karnataka were also conferred with the Padma Shri this year.
British theatre director Peter Brook, Indonesian artist and scholar Wayan Dibia, and Bangladeshi musicologist Sanjida Khatun were also honoured with the Padma Shri.
In the Padma Bhushan category, renowned playback singer KS Chithra, late Union Minister Ram Vilas Paswan, late Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi, Kannada poet, playwright Chandrashekhar Kambara, and Maharashtra-based industrialist Rajnikant Devidas Shroff were among the 10 recipients to have received the honour.