Padma Awards 2022: Kalyan Singh, Neeraj Chopra, Sonu Nigam, Others Honoured

Author Pratibha Ray, Athlete Neeraj Chopra, Singer Sonu Nigam, Dr Moti Lal Madan were among the Padma awardees.

President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Awards at the second investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

(Photo: Twitter/@rashtrapatibhvn)

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred 55 distinguished people with the Padma Awards at the second investiture ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday, 28 March.

The Padma Vibhushan recipients included the late Kalyan Singh, the former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, who received the award posthumously, classical singer Prabha Atre, and others.

The Padma Bhushan recipients comprise actor Victor Banerjee, Suchitra Krishna Ella, and Krishna Murthy Ella of Bharat Biotech, the maker of Covaxin, Author Pratibha Ray, Scientist Sanjaya Rajaram (posthumous), and others.

Athlete Neeraj Chopra, Singer Sonu Nigam, Dr Moti Lal Madan were among the Padma Shri recipients.

The President conferred the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Awards at the Civil Investiture ceremony II. The Civil Investiture Ceremony – I took place on 21 March when 54 eminent personalities were proffered the Padma awards.

The awards were announced on Republic Day eve.

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Sonu Nigam for Art.

President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Suchitra Krishna Ella for Trade & Industries. She is the co-founder of Bharat Biotech International Limited, a company that has delivered over 5 billion vaccine doses in over 123 developing countries through UNICEF and GAVI.

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Neeraj Chopra for Sports.

"It feels great to reap the rewards of hard work. I am focusing on my training now as World (Athletics) Championship is approaching followed by Common Wealth Games," said the Tokyo Olympic Gold medallist Neeraj Chopra on receiving Padma Shri award.

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Dr Moti Lal Madan for Science and Engineering. A renowned animal scientist, biotechnologist, he is credited with several firsts in animal science research in India and holding world records.

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Sulochana Chavan for Art. Known for her "Lavanis" in Marathi, she has rendered voice to around 250 Hindi songs and over 5,000 songs in Marathi.

President Kovind presents Padma Shri to Pramod Bhagat for Sports. An international Para Badminton player, he won the Gold Medal in Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. He is the current World No. 1 and World Champion in Men's Singles and Men's Doubles event.

"I'm extremely happy to be honoured with the biggest civilian award, Padma Shri. India had won 19 medals including 5 gold medals in the Paralympics. Govt has appreciated our achievements, this will motivate the young athletes in India," Tokyo Paralympics gold medalist Pramod Bhagat expressed.

President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Acharya Vashishtha Tripathi for Literature and Education. He is an eminent Sanskrit scholar and considered a veteran of Indian knowledge, science, Indian culture and rituals.

President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Victor Banerjee for Art. A renowned actor, he has worked in several award-winning films and also worked extensively on stage in Calcutta and Bombay in theatre ranging from Musicals to Shakespeare, Opera to Folk theatre.

President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Dr Pratibha Ray for Literature and Education. An internationally acclaimed Indian writer, she has immensely enriched the modern Odia literature by her pioneering short stories and novels, travelogues and essays.

President Kovind presents Padma Vibhushan to Dr Prabha Atre for Art. An internationally renowned vocalist representing the Kirana gharana, she has excelled as a brilliant thinker, academician, author, composer, researcher and reformer.

President Kovind presents Padma Bhushan to Dr Sanjaya Rajaram (Posthumous) for Science & Engineering . He developed 490+ high-yielding and disease-resistant wheat varieties grown in 51 countries. This has increased global wheat production by more than 200+ million tons.

Altogether, 128 Padma Awards were conferred, including two duo awards (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.

The recipients include 34 women, ten people from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, and 13 posthumous awardees.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, and Union Minister for Home Affairs Amit Shah were amongst the dignitaries present at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday.

The Padma awards are proffered in different disciplines and fields of activities like art, public affairs, literature and education, medicine, science and engineering, social work, trade and industry, sports, civil service, and so on.

‘Padma Vibhushan’ is given to acknowledge exceptional and distinguished service, ‘Padma Bhushan’ is awarded for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ is proffered for distinguished service in any field.

(With inputs from PTI.)