Padma Vibhushan for ex-Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Chiranjeevi, Bhushan for Foxconn CEO

Padma Vibhushan for ex-Vice President Venkaiah Naidu, Chiranjeevi, Bhushan for Foxconn CEO

NEW DELHI: Former vice-president M Venkaiah Naidu, Telugu superstar and politician K Chiranjeevi, social worker and founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak, actor Vyjayantimala Bali and Bharat Natyam exponent Padma Subrahmanyam are the five recipients of Padma Vibhushan this year.

Global electronics giant Foxconn chief Young Liu, actors Mithun Chakraborty and the late Vijayakanth besides music director Pyarelal Sharma (of Laxmikant-Pyarelal fame) were among the 17 awarded Padma Bhushan.

First woman Supreme Court judge and former governor M Fathima Beevi and singer Usha Uthup made it to the list of Padma Bhushan as well. Rohan Bopanna, the world No. 1 doubles tennis player, art collector Kiran Nadar and former banker Kalpana Morparia were among those awarded Padma Shri. Awarding “unsung heroes”, engaged in social sphere and working in areas such as climate and medicine, is evident in this year’s selection as well.

Most Padma awards for UP, Maha (12); 35 for southern states

Congratulations to all those who have been conferred Padma awards. India cherishes their contribution across diverse sectors. May they continue to inspire people with their exceptional work,” PM Narendra Modi posted on X after the awards were announced late Thursday.

In terms of regions, Maharashtra and UP got the maximum of 12 each, followed by Bengal (11), Kerala (10) and Karnataka (9). Southern states have got 35 of all 132 Padma awards. Nine awards went to achievers from the northeast.

For 2024, the awards include two duo cases, 30 women and eight foreigners and NRIs. Nine awards have been announced posthumously.

The list of Padma award winners had a large presence of politicians — from O Rajagopal, Ram Naik and CP Thakur to Satyabrata Mukherjee — with four awardees — Pierre Sylvain Filliozat, a Sanskrit scholar, yoga exponents Charlotte Chopin and Kiran Vyas, and Fred Negrit — among those with a French connection. This coincides with the visit of French President Macron to India for Republic Day .

Foxconn, whose chief is in the Padma Bhushan list, has been at the heart of government’s push for electronics manufacturing in India, investing over $2.5 billion, and the Taiwanese giant is one of Apple’s main vendors and now manufactures iPhone and other devices in India. Buddhist spiritual leader from Leh Togdan Rinpoche was also awarded Padma Bhushan.

Several doctors, including cardiologists Tejas Patel & Ashwin Mehta, hepatologist Radhakrishnan Dhiman and neurologist Meshram, were on the list along with Ayurveda practitioner Manohar Dole. The list of artists included Ramlal Bareth and Rezwana Chaudhary Bannya of Bangladesh.

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