Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister late Kalyan Singh, actor Victor Banerjee, Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra were among the 65 personalities who were conferred the Padma awards by President Ram Nath Kovind on Monday.
At the second investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, late Kalyan Singh was conferred the Padma Vibhushan. posthumously. Rajveer Singh, Lok Sabha MP from Uttar Pradesh and the son of the former Chief Minister, during whose tenure the Babri Masjid was demolished in 1992, received the honour.
Classical singer Prabha Atre was the other recipient of the country’s second highest civilian award.
The Padma Bhushan recipients included Krishna Murthy Ella and Suchitra Krishna Ella of Bharat Biotech, the maker of coronavirus vaccine Covaxin apart from actor Victor Banerjee.
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google CEO Sundar Pichai were among those who were named for the the Padma Bhushan but they were not present at Monday’s event.
The Padma Shri awardees include the country’s first individual Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and popular playback singer Sonu Nigam.
Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J.P. Nadda were among those present on the occasion.
This year’s total list comprises four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri awards. The first civil investiture ceremony was held last Monday (March 21) at the Rashtrpati Bhavan during which 54 personalities, including Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad, were given the Padma awards.
