Amitabh, Advani, Dilip Kumar get Padma Vibhushan

Microsoft chief Bill Gates and his wife Melinda selected for Padma Bhushan

The Narendra Modi government’s first Republic Day has seen Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) patriarch Lal Krishna Advani being awarded the highest Padma award, the Padma Vibhushan. Punjab Chief minister and BJP ally Shiromani Akali Dal chief Parkash Singh Badal was the other notable Padma Vibhushan awardee.

Among those from the fields of trade and industry who were awarded the country’s highest civilian honours is Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan, better known as the Aga Khan, who has been bestowed a Padma Vibhushan. Former Infosys board member T V Mohandas Pai and Nandrajan “Raj” Chetty, a non-resident Indian (NRI) from the US, have been awarded Padma Shri.

Microsoft chief Bill Gates and wife Melinda were selected for the Padma Bhushan in the field of social work. The duo have been spearheading it through their Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Economist Bibek Debroy, who was recently appointed member of the Niti Aayog, was awarded a Padma Shri.

Ashok Gulati, former chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, was awarded Padma Shri in the field of public affairs. Filmstar Amitabh Bachchan and thespian Dilip Kumar were awarded Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award after the Bharat Ratna.

The Padma awards list has been in the news even before its release, with talk of the ‘saffron leanings’ to this edition of the awards. Former Lok Sabha Secretary General Subhash C Kashyap, journalists Rajat Sharma of India TV and Swapan Dasgupta were among the list of awardees.

J S Rajput, former director of the National Council of Educational Research and Training, who received Padma Shri, is also among those considered to be of pro-BJP. Adman and lyricist Prasoon Joshi, who was instrumental in the BJP’s successful media campaign for the Lok sabha polls, was also among the Padma awardees. Eminent lawyer Harish Salve, cardiologist Dr Ashok Seth, Indian-American mathematician Manjul Bhargava, and former chief election commissioner N Gopalaswami were the other Padma Bhushan awardees, while eminent lawyer K K Venugopal was awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Hindu religious leader Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya (Padma Vibhushan), Swami Satyamitranand Giri (Padma Bhushan) - both from Uttar Pradesh - Shivakumara Swami of Karnataka (Padma Bhushan) and Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja of Portugal (Padma Shri) were among the 104 awardees.

This year’s list has nine Padma Vibhushan, 20 Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri awardees. Seventeen of the awardees are women and the list also includes 17 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, persons of Indian origin, four were awarded posthumously.

Satpal Singh, the former wrestler and coach of double Olympics medallist Sushil Kumar, was the lone person in the field of sports selected for the Padma Bhushan. Among the five sportspersons who got Padma Shri are badminton star P V Sindhu, India's men's hockey team captain Sardara Singh, women's hockey player Saba Anjum, India's women's cricket team captain Mithali Raj, and former volleyball player Arunima Sinha.