New Delhi: On the eve of the 74th Republic Day, the Centre Wednesday announced the recipients of the prestigious Padma Award. These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March or April every year.
For the year 2023, the President has approved the conferment of 106 Padma Awards including 3 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises 6 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan and 91 Padma Shri Awards. 19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 2 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 7 Posthumous awardees.
ORS pioneer Dilip Mahalanabis will receive Padma Vibhushan (posthumous) in the field of Medicine (Pediatrics). Apart from him, Mulayam Singh Yadav (Posthumous), Zakir Hussain, Balkrishna Doshi (Posthumous), SM Krishna, and Srinivas Varadhan will also be conferred with Padma Vibhushan. KM Birla and Sudha Murty have been conferred with Padma Bhushan for their contribution in trade and social work respectively.
Mahalanabis pioneered the wide use of ORS (Oral Rehydration Solution), estimated to have saved over five crore lives globally. ORS is a simple, inexpensive yet effective ingenious solution - thanks to which the world has witnessed 93 percent reduction in deaths caused by Diarrhea, Cholera and Dehydration, especially in infants and children. He demonstrated the effectiveness of ORS while serving in Refugee camps during the 1971 Bangladesh Liberation War, having returned from the USA to serve.
The Padma Awards – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – are among the country’s highest civilian awards. Instituted in 1954, these awards, announced on the occasion of the Republic Day every year, seek to recognize ‘work of distinction’ and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields/disciplines, such as, Art, Literature and Education, Sports, Medicine, Social Work, Science and Engineering, Public Affairs, Civil Service, Trade and Industry etc. The Padma list comprised names of unsung heroes from the fields of social work, medicine, literature and education, among others.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the awardees and said the nation cherished their contribution. "Congratulations to those who have been conferred the Padma Awards. India cherishes their rich and varied contributions to the nation and their efforts to enhance our growth trajectory," PM Modi tweeted.
Here is the full list of Padma Awards 2023:
