Noted physicist Yash Pal and space scientist Roddam Narasimha were among those chosen for this year's second highest civilian honour of Padma Vibhushan while yesteryear cine stars late Rajesh Khanna and Sharmila Tagore and cricketer Rahul Dravid were selected for Padma Bhushan.
President Pranab Mukherjee on Saturday conferred the Padma awards on several eminent personalities including industrialist Adi Godrej, Olympic medal winners Yogeshwar Dutt and Vijay Kumar, actor Nana Patekar and designer Ritu Kumar.
Cricketer VVS Laxman will be conferred the Padma Shri for his services to the game.
Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Prince Karim Aga Khan were among the eminent personalities awarded the Padma Vibhushan, country's second highest civilian honour, by President Pranab Mukherjee in New Delhi on Wednesday.
President Murmu had to move forward to give the award to the 86-year-old singer who has difficulty walking.
Eight years ago, tabla maestro Zakir Hussain had narrated how his father Alla Rakha had welcomed him into this world by putting the musical instrument's rhythms into his ears when asked to recite prayers.
Freedom fighter and former member of Parliament Shashi Bhushan died at a hospital in Delhi on Friday. He was 88.
President A P J Abdul Kalam presented the awards at a function at the Ashoka Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan.\n\n
President Pratibha Patil has approved the conferment of Padma Awards-2012. This year the President has approved 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of foreigners/ non-resident Indians/ Persons of Indian Origin/Posthumous. These comprise five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. There are 19 women among the awardees.
'Panchamda created an exclusive theme music for Gabbar Singh, which is used throughout the film every time the dacoit makes an appearance, and in both concept and sound, is so eerie and evil.'
Kidambi Srikanth, whose stature has grown immensely following a phenomenal 2017, was nominated for the prestigious Padma Shri award by former Sports Minister Vijay Goel.
On her first visit to any state in the Indian Union after being sworn in as President of the Republic, Rashtrapati Droupadi Murmu was felicitated in Bengaluru by some of that city's luminaries.
Williams' father, originally from Jhulasan, migrated to the United States in 1957.
President Pratibha Patil has approved the conferment of Padma Awards 2012. This year the president has approved 109 awards including one duo case (counted as one) and 14 in the category of foreigners/non-resident Indians/ Persons of India Origin/ posthumous. These comprise five Padma Vibhushan, 27 Padma Bhushan and 77 Padma Shri Awards. There are 19 ladies among the awardees.
"I am deeply honoured and humbled. I am absolutely delighted to be in the company of people with extraordinary achievements," Zakaria told PTI after the Indian government nominated him for the prestigious Padma Bhushan awards. Zakaria said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh deserves enormous credit for having moved India towards the path of greater degree of comfort and strategic insight.
Deaflympics gold medallist Virender Singh Yadav, better known as Goonga Pehlwan, has now decided to return his Padma Shri to the government, showing solidarity with the country's top wrestlers.
Does the fact that Olympic medallists Sushil Kumar and Vijender Kumar were overlooked raise questions about the fairness of the selection process? Do Bollywood stars like Akshay Kumar and Aishwarya Rai deserve Padma Shris, considering the foremost criterion for the award is public service? Have the awards become irrelevant?
When we put 'Thala' Ajith and 'Action King' Arjun in the same frame, you can expect fireworks and they don't let you down, notes A Ganesh Nadar.
A large number of the civilian awards went to persons from the 'art' category.
Former Indian ambassador to the US Naresh Chandra, noted litterateur Raja Rao (posthumous) and scientist S E Chandy George and civil servant V Krishnamurthy were also selected for Padma Vibhushan.
Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly and his deputy Rahul Dravid will be among 74 persons to be honoured with the Padma Shri.
Engineer-turned-philanthropist Sudha Murty on Thursday took oath as Rajya Sabha MP in the presence of her husband N R Narayana Murthy.
Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw Field Marshal K M Cariappa Marshal of the Indian Air Force Arjan Singh The three highest-ranking military heroes of the Indian Armed Forces. They were the rarest of the rare. The bravest of the brave.
Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, has not been conferred on anyone this year.
'It is Bajrang Punia's personal decision to return the Padma Shri. The WFI polls were held in fair and democratic manner. We will still try to persuade Bajrang to reverse his decision to return Padma Shri.'
The Padma Vibhushan for this year has been awarded to a total of seven prominent personalities, while 16 have been given the Padma Bhushan, 118 have been given the Padma Shri on the 71st Republic Day this year, they said.
President A P J Abdul Kalam gave away the awards to 58 eminent personalities from different walks of life at a glittering ceremony held at the Ashoka Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan.
Atre, a torch-bearer of the Kirana Gharana of Hindustani classical music, had been honoured with all three Padma awards by the Indian government.
Indian-American astronaut Sunita Williams returned to Earth after completing a record-breaking 9-month mission to the International Space Station. The mission was initially planned for eight days but was extended due to issues with their Boeing spacecraft. During her mission, Williams broke the record for most time spent spacewalking by a woman, completing 62 hours and 9 minutes of extra-vehicular activity.
Industry greats like Ratan Tata, Lakshmi Mittal, Narayana Murthy and P R S Oberoi have been nominated for this years Padma Vibhushan.
'The great singer Shardaji took Bhojpuri music and singing to the national and international level with her singing!'
Ustad Zakir Hussain was laid to rest on Thursday at a San Francisco cemetery as renowned percussionist A Sivamani and other artistes performed on their drums at a little distance away in a tribute to the tabla maestro.
Manu Bhaker has been shockingly ignored for this year's Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna award, a top sports ministry source has asserted
Tabla maestro Ustad Zakir Hussain died at a hospital in San Francisco, his family said on Monday.
Folk artist from Chhattisgarh Teejan Bai, Guelleh, Naik and theatre actor from Maharashtra Balwant Moreshwar Purandare will be honoured with Padma Vibushan.
'I am ashamed that you and I were born into the same faith -- because we are nothing alike. My religion is humanity. The Islam I know teaches me to protect the innocent. Yours celebrates slaughter, you #&$#@#. 'My Islam teaches me to serve my nation. Yours tells you to tear it apart,' writes Major Dr Mohommed Ali Shah (retd).
Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) chairman Bibek Debroy passed away this morning, a senior EAC-PM official said. He was admitted to AIIMS. Debroy (69) was educated in Ramakrishna Mission School, Narendrapur; Presidency College, Kolkata; Delhi School of Economics; and Trinity College, Cambridge.
The ministry, while suspending the newly-formed WFI panel under president Sanjay Singh on December 24, three days after he was elected its head, had cited the office running from Brij Bhushan's residence as one of the reasons for taking the stringent action.
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