New Delhi: Veteran sculptor Sudarsan Sahoo and five other noted personalities from Odisha were among those given the Padma awards by President Ram Nath Kovind at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi Tuesday.
Sahoo was awarded the country’s second-highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan for his contribution in the field of art. He had earlier received the country’s fourth-highest civilian honour Padma Shri in 1988.
Among o other Padma recipients from the state, Shanti Devi was conferred with Padma Shri for social work while Purnamasi Jani received it for art. Krushna Mohan Padhi was honoured with Padma Shri for his contribution to medicine category. Rajat Kumar Kar and Nanda Prusty received the award for their contributions to Literature and Education.
Meanwhile, veteran doctor and educationist from Karnataka Belle Monappa Hegde and archaeology legend B B Lal were also given the Padma Vibhushan awards.
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Sumitra Mahajan, India’s first eight-time woman MP and Nripendra Misra, veteran Indian Administrative Service officer, were presented the Padma Bhushan for their contribution in public affairs and civil service, respectively.
Former Assam chief minister Tarun Gogoi (posthumous) was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan. The award was received by his wife.
Social worker from Assam Lakhimi Baruah, Professor Jai Bhagwan Goyal, Hindi litterateur from Haryana’s Kurukshetra, Manganiyar folk singer from Rajasthan Lakha Khan, acclaimed carnatic vocalist Bombay Jayashri Ramnath, senior orthopaedic surgeon from Dehradun Bhupendra Kumar Singh Sanjay and noted Hindi professor and journalist from Srinagar Chaman Lal Sapru were given Padma Shri awards.
Rajasthan-based Pali writer Arjun Singh Shekhawat, foremost authorities on Sanskrit Vyakaran Ram Yatna Shukla, Delhi-based social worker Jitender Singh Shunty, steeplechase athlete Sudha Singh, veteran Hindi writer from Bihar Mridula Sinha (posthumous), gear man of Coimbatore P Subramanian (posthumous), social worker from West Bengal Guru Maa Kamali Soren and tribal folk culture scholar from Bhopal Kapil Tiwari were also given the Padma Shri awards.
India’s leading dwarf para-athlete K Y Venkatesh and Bangladesh liberation war veteran Lt Col Quazi Sajjad Ali Zahir were also honoured with the Padma Shri awards.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the dignitaries present during the civil investiture ceremony to give away the awards.
Through the Padma awards, the government seeks to recognise “work of distinction” in various fields such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.
The Padma awards are given in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri — and announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.
The Narendra Modi government has been honouring many “unsung heroes”, who are contributing to society in different ways, with Padma awards since 2014.
PTI