Padma Awards 2023

    0
    4415

    In News

    • The Padma awards are announced every year on the eve of Republic Day.
      • A total of 106 Padma Awards with six Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan, and 91 Padma Shri conferred across various categories.
      • The awards are presented by the President of India.

    What are Padma Awards?

    • About:
      • Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honors of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day after the Bharat Ratna.
      • The Award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
      • The total number of awards to be given in a year (excluding posthumous awards and to NRI/foreigners/OCIs) should not be more than 120.
      • The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardees’ name.
    • Categories: The Awards are given in three categories: 
      • Padma Vibhushan is awarded for ‘exceptional and distinguished service;  
      • Padma Bhushan is awarded for ‘distinguished service of a high order’; and  
      • Padma Shri is awarded for ‘distinguished service’.
    • Eligibility: 
      • All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards.
      • 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.
    • Nominations for the awards: 
      • All nominations are placed before the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members. The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.
    • Background:
      • The Government of India instituted two civilian awards-Bharat Ratna & Padma Vibhushan in 1954. 
      • The 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 in 1955.

    List of Awardees in  2023

    Padma Vibhushan (6)

    • Shri Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous) (Others – Architecture)
    • Shri Zakir Hussain (Art)
    • Shri S M Krishna (Public Affairs)
    • Shri Dilip Mahalanabis (Posthumous) (Medicine)
    • Shri Srinivas Varadhan (Science & Engineering)
    • Shri Mulayam Singh Yadav (Posthumous) (Public Affairs)

    Padma Bhushan(9)

    • Shri S L Bhyrappa (Literature & Education)
    • Shri Kumar Mangalam Birla (Trade & Industry)
    • Shri Deepak Dhar (Science & Engineering)
    • Ms. Vani Jairam (Art)
    • Swami Chinna Jeeyar (Others – Spiritualism)
    • Ms. Suman Kalyanpur (Art)
    • Shri Kapil Kapoor (Literature & Education)
    • Ms. Sudha Murty (Social Work)
    • Shri Kamlesh D Patel (Others – Spiritualism)

    And 91 Padma shri awards were conferred in different fields.

    Unsung Heros who were Conferred Padma Awards

    • Dilip Mahalanabis (Padma Vibhushan): The 87-year-old paediatrician has been posthumously honoured for pioneering the wide use of Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), a solution which has led to 93 percent reduction in deaths caused by diarrhoea, cholera and dehydration, especially among infants.
    • Ratan Chandra Kar (Padma Shri): A retired government doctor from Andamans, he has been working with the Jarawa tribe who lives on the island. He treated the members of the community during the measles epidemic of 1999 and brought them back from the verge of extinction.
    • Hirabai Lobi (Padma Shri): A tribal social worker, she has been working for the betterment of the Siddi community in Gujarat by providing education to the children of the community and has promoted financial independence among the women.
    • Munishwar Chander Dawar (Padma Shri): The 1971 Indo-Pak war veteran doctor has been treating underprivileged people for the past five decades at a nominal cost of ?20.
    • Ramkuiwangbe Newme (Padma Shri): The Naga social worker has dedicated his entire life for the conservation and preservation of Heraka religion.
    • VP Appukuttan Poduval (Padma Shri): The Gandhian and freedom fighter actively participated in the 1942 Quit India Movement. He has been honoured for his selfless work to uplift the lives of weaker sections of the society for the past eight decades.
    • Sankurathri Chandra Sekhar (Padma Shri): He is a social worker dedicated his life to provide free medical and education services to the needy. After losing his wife and two children in the Air India Kanishka bombing, he chose to channelise his grief into a lifelong commitment towards the betterment of the society.
    • Vadivel Gopal and Masi Sadaiyan (Padma Shri): The snake catchers from Irula tribe have specialised in catching the venomous and most dangerous snakes. They belong to the tribe which has played an important role in the healthcare sector through antivenoms collected by them.
    • Tula Ram Upreti (Padma Shri): The 98-year-old organic farmer from Sikkim has been training and inspiring other farmers to adopt natural farming techniques. 
    • KC Runremsangi (Padma Shri): The Mizo folk singer from Aizawl has been honoured for safeguarding the Mizo cultural heritage for close to three decades. She is credited with recording several Mizo folk songs, and was conferred with the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2017.

     

    IE

    RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR