President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Awards

New Delhi, Mar 21: President Ram Nath Kovind conferred Padma awards to Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, at a civil investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.

Among the awardees, two will be conferred with Padma Vibhushan, eight will be given Padma Bhushan and 54 will be given Padma Shri awards for the year 2022.

Prominent awardees include Padma Vibhushan recipients General Rawat (posthumous) and late chairman of Gita Press Radhey Shyam, Padma Bhushan awardees Azad, Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa (posthumous), Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekharan, former CAG Rajiv Mehrishi, Covishield's maker Serum Institute of India's Cyrus Poonawalla among others.

The awards are conferred in three categories -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.

These awards are given in various disciplines and fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

'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 awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.

The awards are conferred by the President at ceremonial functions which are held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan.

This year, a total of 128 Padma Awards are being conferred, including two duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one).

The list of awardees comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri Awards.

Thirty-four awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 Posthumous awardees.

The second civil investiture ceremony is scheduled to be held on March 28.