Annual Padma Awards Postponed Over Coronavirus Scare
Scheduled for April 3 at Rashtrapati Bhavan, Padma Award ceremony postponed. Next date and time to be announced.
Scheduled for 3 April, the Padma Awards ceremony has been postponed following the outbreak of COVID-2019 in the country with 84 positive cases reported on Saturday, 14 March across the country.
The ceremony is held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan every year.
Ahead of the 71st Republic Day, President Ram Nath Kovind had on Saturday, 25 January, announced the names of Padma Bhushan, Padma Vibhushan and Padma Shri awardees for 2020.
Eminent personalities, including former Union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes, Olympian boxer Mary Kom, former Mauritius prime minister Anerood Jugnauth have been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.
Former defence minister Manohar Parrikar, industrialists Anand Mahindra and Venu Srinivasan, Olympian badminton player PV Sindhu, former Nagaland chief minister SC Jamir and Jammu and Kashmir politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig have been awarded with the Padma Bhushan.
118 people were awarded the Padma Shri on Republic Day this year.
The awards are given in various disciplines – 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 occasion of Republic Day every year.
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