Dhirubhai Ambani chosen for Padma Vibhushan award
By Sreekanth A Nair
Avinash Dixit, Robert Blackwill, Salman Amin Sal Khan and Ajaypal Singh Banga
Four personalities from the US: Avinash Dixit, Robert Blackwill, Salman Amin Sal Khan and Ajaypal Singh Banga have been selected for Padma Awards, announced on the eve of India’s Republic Day.
Indian American economist Avinash Dixit bagged Padma Vibhushan in the foreigner category. American teacher Salman Amin Sal Khan, and Ajaypal Singh Banga, President and CEO of Master Card, have been selected for Padma Shri awards.
The awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities, 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.
These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhavan usually around March/April every year. This year the President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, has approved conferment of Padma Awards to 112 persons.
The list comprises of 10 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 83 Padma Shri Awardees. Nineteen of the awardees are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs (include one posthumous) and 4 posthumous awardees.
The late Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance group, has been chosen for Padma Vibhushan award along with 9 prominent people from different categories.
Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, popularly known as Dhirubhai Ambani, will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan in the trade and industry category.
Well-known classical dancer Yamini Krishnamurthi, south-Indian superstar Rajinikanth, and classical musician Girija Devi bagged Padma Vibhushan in the art section.
Ramoji Rao, who owns the world’s largest film production facility, Ramoji Film City, has been chosen for the award. Dr. Viswanathan Shanta received the award for his contributions in the medical field.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar received Padma Vibhushan for his contributions in spirituality. Others include: Jagmohan, a former Lieutenant Governor Delhi, Goa, and Governor of Jammu & Kashmir, Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre, a scientist and former head of the Defence Research and Development Organisation DRDO).
Coming from an ordinary family in Gujarat, Dhirubhai Ambani founded Reliance Industries in Mumbai, which is one of the biggest companies in the world.
“The Padma Vibhushan awarded to Shri Dhirubhai Ambani is an honour to the indomitable spirit of Indian entrepreneurship, innovation and ambition to always do better than the best in the world,” said Mukesh Ambani, his older son.
“I personally, and the entire Reliance family, are truly overwhelmed and deeply humbled at the award of this great national honour, the Padma Vibhushan, for the greatest entrepreneur and wealth creator in the history of India, my beloved father, Shri Dhirubhai Ambani,” he added.
Bollywood actor Anupam Kher, Singer Udit Narayan, Swami Tejomayananda, who heads the Chinmaya Mission, badminton player Saina Nehwal, tennis star Sania Mirza are among the personalities selected for the Padma Bhushan award.
Bollywood actors Ajay Devgan, Priyanka Chopra, Telugu director S.S Rajamouli, who directed the blockbuster film Baahubali, social worker Sunita Krishnan, archer Deepika Kumari, are also among those announced for awards.
The complete list of Padma awardees:
PADMA VIBHUSHAN
Sl. No | Name | Field | State |
1. | Yamini Krishnamurthi | Art- Classical dance | Delhi |
2. | Rajinikanth | Art-Cinema | Tamil Nadu |
3. | Girija Devi | Art-Classical Vocal | West Bengal |
4. | Ramoji Rao | Literature & Education-Journalism | Andhra Pradesh |
5. | Dr. Viswanathan Shanta | Medicine- Oncology | Tamil Nadu |
6. | Shri Shri Ravi Shankar | Others-Spiritualism | Karnataka |
7. | Jagmohan | Public Affairs | Delhi |
8. | Dr.Vasudev Kalkunte Aatre | Science & Engineering | Karnataka |
9. | Avinash Dixit
(Foreigner) |
Literature & Education | USA |
10. | Late Dhiru Bhai Ambani (Posthumous) | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra |
Padma Bhushan
Sl. No. | Name | Field | State |
11. | Anupam Kher | Art-Cinema | Maharashtra |
12. | Udit Narayan Jha | Art-Playback Singing | Maharashtra |
13. | Ram V. Sutar | Art-Sculpture | Uttar Pradesh |
14. | Heisnam Kanhailal | Art-Theatre | Manipur |
15. | Vinod Rai | Civil Service | Kerala |
16. | Dr. Yarlagadda Lakshmi Prasad | Literature & Education | Andhra Pradesh |
17. | Prof. N. S. Ramanuja Tatacharya | Literature & Education | Maharashtra |
18. | Dr. Barjinder Singh Hamdard | Literature & Education – Journalism | Punjab |
19. | Prof. D. Nageshwar Reddy | Medicine-Gastroenterology | Telangana |
20. | Swami Tejomayananda | Other-Spiritualism | Maharashtra |
21. | Hafeez Contractor | Others-Architecture | Maharashtra |
22. | Ravindra Chandra Bhargava | Public Affairs | Uttar Pradesh |
23. | Dr.Venkata Rama Rao Alla | Science & Engineering | Andhra Pradesh |
24. | Saina Nehwal | Sports-Badminton | Telangana |
25. | Sania Mirza | Sports-Tennis | Telangana |
26. | Indu Jain | Trade & Industry | Delhi |
27. | Late Swami Dayanand Sarawasati (Posthumous) | Others-Spiritualism | Uttarakhand |
28. | Robert Blackwill
(Foreigner) |
Public Affairs | USA |
29. | Pallonji Shapoorji Mistry (NRI/PIO) | Trade & Industry | Ireland |
Padma Shri
Sl. No | Name | Field | State |
30. | Prathibha Prahlad | Art- Classical Dance | Delhi |
31. | Bhikhudan Gadhvi | Art- Folk Music | Gujarat |
32. | Sribhas Chandra Supakar | Art- Textile Designing | Uttar Pradesh |
33. | Ajay Devgn | Art-Cinema | Maharashtra |
34. | Priyanka Chopra | Art-Cinema | Maharashtra |
35. | Tulsidas Borkar | Art-Classical Music | Goa |
36. | Dr. Soma Ghosh | Art-Classical Vocal | Uttar Pradesh |
37. | Nila Madhab Panda | Art-Film Direction and Production | Delhi |
38. | S.S. Rajamouli | Art-Film Direction and Production | Karnataka |
39. | Madhur Bhandarkar | Art-Film Direction and Production | Maharashtra |
40. | Prof. M. Venkatesh Kumar | Art-Folk Artist | Karnataka |
41. | Gulabi Sapera | Art-Folk Dance | Rajasthan |
42. | Mamta Chandrakar | Art-Folk Music | Chhattisgarh |
43. | Malini Awasthi | Art-Folk Music | Uttar Pradesh |
44. | Jai Prakash Lekhiwal | Art-Miniature Painting | Delhi |
45. | K. Laxma Goud | Art-Painting | Telangana |
46. | Bhalchandra Dattatray Mondhe | Art-Photography | Madhya Pradesh |
47. | Naresh Chander Lal | Art-Theatre & Cinema | Andaman & Nicobar |
48. | Dhirendra Nath Bezbaruah | Literature & Education | Assam |
49. | Prahlad Chandra Tasa | Literature & Education | Assam |
50. | Dr.Ravindra Nagar | Literature & Education | Delhi |
51. | Dahyabhai Shastri | Literature & Education | Gujarat |
52. | Dr.Santeshivara Bhyrappa | Literature & Education | Karnataka |
53. | Haldar Nag | Literature & Education | Odisha |
54. | Kameshwaram Brahma | Literature & Education -Journalism | Assam |
55. | Prof. Pushpesh Pant | Literature & Education-Journalism | Delhi |
56. | Jawaharlal Kaul | Literature & Education-Journalism | Jammu & Kashmir |
57. | Ashok Malik | Literature &Education | Delhi |
58. | Dr.Mannam Gopi Chand | Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery | Telangana |
59. | Prof. Ravi Kant | Medicine-Surgery | Uttar Pradesh |
60. | Prof. Ram Harsh Singh | Medicine- Ayurveda | Uttar Pradesh |
61. | Prof. Shiv Narain Kureel | Medicine- Paediatric Surgery | Uttar Pradesh |
62. | Dr.Sabya Sachi Sarkar | Medicine –Radiology | Uttar Pradesh |
63. | Dr. Alla Gopala Krishna Gokhale | Medicine-Cardiac Surgery | Andhra Pradesh |
64. | Prof. T.K. Lahiri | Medicine-Cardio Thoracic Surgery | Uttar Pradesh |
65. | Dr. Praveen Chandra | Medicine-Cardiology | Delhi |
66. | Prof. (Dr) Daljeet Singh Gambhir | Medicine-Cardiology | Uttar Pradesh |
67. | Dr.Chandrasekar Shesadri Thoguluva | Medicine-Gastroenterology | Tamil Nadu |
68. | Dr. (Mrs.) Anil Kumari Malhotra | Medicine-Homeopathy | Delhi |
69. | Prof. M.V. Padma Srivastava | Medicine-Neurology | Delhi |
70. | Dr. Sudhir V. Shah | Medicine-Neurology | Gujarat |
71. | Dr. M. M. Joshi | Medicine-Ophthalmology | Karnataka |
72. | Prof. (Dr) John Ebnezar | Medicine-Orthopaedic Surgery | Karnataka |
73. | Dr. Nayudamma Yarlagadda | Medicine-Paediatric Surgery | Andhra Pradesh |
74. | Simon Oraon | Other –Environment Conservation | Jharkhand |
75. | Imitiaz Qureshi | Other-Culinary | Delhi |
76. | Piyush Pandey | Others-Advertising & Communication | Maharashtra |
77. | Subhash Palekar | Others-Farming | Maharashtra |
78. | Ravinder Kumar Sinha | Others-Wildlife Conservation | Bihar |
79. | Dr. H.R. Nagendra | Others-Yoga | Karnataka |
80. | M. C. Mehta | Public Affairs | Delhi |
81. | M. N. Krishna Mani | Public Affairs | Delhi |
82. | Ujjwal Nikam | Public Affairs | Maharashtra |
83. | Tokheho Sema | Public Affairs | Nagaland |
84. | Dr. Satish Kumar | Science & Engineering | Delhi |
85. | Dr.Mylswamy Annadurai | Science & Engineering | Karnataka |
86. | Prof. Dipankar Chatterji | Science & Engineering | Karnataka |
87. | Prof.(Dr.) Ganapati Dadasaheb Yadav | Science & Engineering | Maharashtra |
88. | (Prof.) Veena Tandon | Science & Engineering | Meghalaya |
89. | Onkar Nath Srivastava | Science and Engineering | Uttar Pradesh |
90. | Sunita Krishnan | Social Work | Andhra Pradesh |
91. | Ajoy Kumar Dutta | Social Work | Assam |
92. | M. Pandit Dasa | Social Work | Karnataka |
93. | P. P. Gopinathan Nair | Social Work | Kerala |
94. | Madeleine Herman de Blic | Social Work | Puducherry |
95. | Srinivasan Damal Kandalai | Social work | Tamil Nadu |
96. | Sudhakar Olwe | Social Work | Maharashtra |
97. | Dr. T.V. Narayana | Social Work | Telangana |
98. | Arunachalam Murugantham | Social Work | Tamil Nadu |
99. | Deepika Kumari | Sports-Archery | Jharkhand |
100. | Sushil Doshi | Sports-commentary | Madhya Pradesh |
101. | Mahesh Sharma | Trade & Industry | Delhi |
102. | Saurabh Srivastava | Trade & Industry | Delhi |
103. | Dilip Sanghvi | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra |
104. | Dr. Keki Hormusji Gharda | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra |
105. | Late Shri Prakash Chand Surana (Posthumous) | Art -Classical Music | Rajasthan |
106. | Late Shri Saeed Jaffrey
(NRI/PIO/Posthumous) |
Art-Cinema | UK |
107. | Michael Postel
(Foreigner) |
Art-Archaeology | France |
108. | Salman Amin Sal Khan (NRI/PIO) | Literature & Education | USA
|
109. | Hui Lan Zhang
(Foreigner) |
Others-Yoga | China |
110. | Predrag K. Nikic
(Foreigner) |
Others-Yoga | Serbia |
111. | Dr.Sundar Aditya Menon
(NRI/PIO) |
Social Work | UAE |
112. | Ajaypal Singh Banga(NRI/PIO) | Trade & Industry | USA |