President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday, Nov 8,  bequeathed the prestigious Padma awards on recipients qualifying from all walks of life, including actor Kangana Ranaut, singer Adnan Sami and head scientists at ICMR Dr Raman Gangakhedkar among other notable personalities.

India’s highest civilian award, Padma Awards, are given in various disciplines and walks of life, such as art, social work, sports, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education. The Padma awards are given for distinguished service of a high order. Among the well-known awardees from the field of art are artist Shyam Sunder Sharma, actor Savita Joshi, content creator Ekta Kapoor, filmmaker Karan Johar, and late singer SP Balasubramaniam. In sports, Mary Kom, Zaheer Khan, PV Sindhu are presented with the Padma Awards.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah also attended the event. Modi tweeted, “Attended the first of the Padma Award ceremonies for the years 2020 and 2021. I felt extremely happy to see grassroots level achievers being recognised for their exemplary efforts to further public good. Congratulations to all those who have been conferred the #PeoplesPadma.” The second-highest civilian award of India, after the Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan is given for “exceptional and distinguished service”. For the year 2020,  Indian politicians Arun Jaitley and Sushma Swaraj have been given the award posthumously.