Padma Vibhushan for Bipin Rawat; Covishield, Covaxin Makers Get Padma Bhushan

India’s first Chief of Defence Staff Bipin Rawat, who died last month in a tragic chopper crash, will be posthumously conferred with Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian honour, the government said on the eve of Republic Day. Cyrus Poonawalla, chairman of Serum Institute of India, which manufactured the Covid-19 vaccine Covishield, will receive the Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian honour.

Dr Krishna Ella and wife Suchitra Ella, founders of Bharat Biotech, the Hyderabad-based company that manufactured another Covid vaccine, Covaxin, will also receive the Padma Bhushan. The announcement for this year’s Padma awards was made by the Union Home Ministry in a statement.

Poonawalla, Krishna and Suchitra Ella have been conferred the award in the category ‘trade and industry’. Rawat has been given the honour in the field of ‘civil service’.

Poonawalla expressed gratitude to the Government of India for the honour. He said, “It is a great privilege for me to be amongst a prestigious list of illustrious people who have contributed to the growth of our country. Health is one of the strongest pillars of society, and I will continue to work towards making it equitable for all.”

Along with late CDS Rawat, vocalist Prabha Atre, late politician Kalyan Singh, who had served twice as the Uttar Pradesh CM, and late Radheshyam Khemka, the president of Gita Press, have also been honoured with the Padma Vibhushan.

Padma Bhushan recepients

A total of 17 personalities were conferred with Padma Bhushan. Former West Bengal CM and veteran communist leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, musician Rashid Khan were among those recognised with Padma Bhushan. Tech giants Satya Nadella, Microsoft CEO, and Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Alphabet, are also on the list, and have been awarded under the category ‘trade and industry’.

Late Punjabi folk singer Gurmeet Bawa, actor Victor Banerjee and former Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi will receive Padma Bhushan.

A total of 107 eminent personalities were honoured with Padma Shri, including Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra and singer Sonu Nigam.

Padma awards are one of the highest civilian recognitions of the country. The awards are given in several disciplines such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service, among others.

In this year’s Padma list, there are 128 awards, comprising four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri recipients. As many as 34 recepients are women and 13 posthumous awardees.

(With PTI inputs)

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