New Delhi (ANI): President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday presented 3 Padma Vibhushan, 4 Padma Bhushan and 47 Padma Shri Awards for the year 2023 at a grand presentation ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Union Home Minister Amit Shah were among the dignitaries in attendance at the ceremony.

Shah and other Union ministers were later spotted interacting with the Padma awardees at a dinner hosted by him at Sushma Swaraj Bhawan in the national capital, read an official statement.

Also among the dignitaries at the presentation ceremony was Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.

Out of 106 Padma awards, President Murmu on Wednesday conferred 54. She will confer the remaining 52 awards on Thursday.

Prof Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous), classical tabla virtuoso Zakir Hussain and former External Affairs Minister and former Chief Minister of Karnataka Somanahalli Mallaiah Krishna were conferred with the Padma Vibushan, the second-highest civilian honour in the country, on Wednesday.

Industrialist and chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Kumar Mangalam, noted singer Suman Kalyanpur, Prof Kapil Kapoor and Kamlesh D Patel received the Padma Bhushan.

Jodhaiya Bai Baiga, Usha Barle, Sankurathri Chandrasekhar, Raman Cheruvayal, Bhanubhai Chunilal Chitara, Narendra Chandra Debbarma, Vadivel Gopal, Masi Sadaiyan, Hem Chandra Goswami, Pritikana Goswami, Dr Modadugu Vijay Gupta, Dilshad Hussain, Dr Rattan Singh Jaggi, Bikram Bahadur Jamatia, Rakesh Radheyshyam Jhunjhunwala (Posthumous), Guru Thiruvidaimarudur Kuppiah Kalyanansundarm, Dr, Ratan Chandra Kar, Mahipatrai Prataprai Kavi, Maguni Charan Kunar, Prof (Dr) Arvind Kumar, Risingbor Kurkalang, Hirabaiben Ibrahimbhai Lobi, Dr Prabhakar Bhanudas Mande, Nadoja Pindipapanahalli Munivenkatappa, Prof (Dr) Mahendra Pal, Dr Nalini Parthasarathi, Dr Hanumantha Rao Pasupuleti, Ramesh Raghunath Patange, VP Appukuttan Poduval, SRD Prasad, Chintalapati Venkatapathi Raju, Bandi Ramakrishna Roy, Prof (Dr) Manoranjan Sahu, Kota Satchidananda Sastry, Gurcharan Singh Laxman Singh, Prof Prakash Chandra Sood, Neihunuo Sorhie, S Subbaraman, Vishwanath Prasad Tiwari, Dhaniram Toto, Tularam Upreti, Dr G Veluchamu, Karma Wangchu (Posthumous) Ghulam Mohammad Zaz were also honoured at the ceremony.

The Padma awardees will pay homage to the National War Memorial on March 23 and also visit the Amrit Udyan and Rashtrapati Bhawana. They will also visit the Pradhanmantri Sangrahalaya, the statement read.

Kantha embroidery artist Pritikana Goswami, who received the Padma Shri, said, “It has taken me years of struggle to reach this far. The fruit of labour is always sweet. I have experienced it all through my life. So, I’d like to tell everyone to put in a wholehearted effort into whatever they choose to pursue and never lose heart as they will get the deserving results someday.”

On being conferred the country’s third-highest civilian honour, Kumar Mangalam Birla said in a statement, “The spirit of nation-building and trusteeship has guided my family across generations. And so, to receive this national honour is indeed humbling. I thank the Honourable President of India, Smt Droupadi Murmu and the Honourable Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, for this prestigious honour which I accept on behalf of my 140,000 colleagues from 36 countries. This award is a recognition of the longitudinal impact of the Aditya Birla Group– in enriching lives and in demonstrating through actions that business is a force for good.”

Earlier, in January, the Central government announced a total of 106 Padma Awards across categories. The categories included art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service, among others. (ANI)

The Padma awards are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. These awards are given in various disciplines and fields such as 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 in March-April every year.