Varanasi: Veteran Hindi Journalist and author Ram Bahadur Rai of Banaras is among the 2025 Padma Bhushan awardees while Vedic scholar Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid is among the Padma Shri recipients this year.
The central government announced the 2025 Padma awardees on January 25, a day before the nation celebrated its 76th Republic Day on Sunday. Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are the third and fourth-highest civilian awards in India respectively.
Rai, a noted journalist and former editor of Hindi daily Jansatta, is being conferred with the Padma award for his rich contribution to journalism and education. Born on July 1, 1946, in Uttar Pradesh's Ghazipur, Rai received his elementary education in the same district before moving to Varanasi for higher studies.
He pursued graduation from DAV College and postgraduation from Banaras Hindu University. He started his career as a journalist in 1979 and has authored several books. He is the incumbent president of Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts and was earlier awarded Padma Shri in 2015.
As for Pandit Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, he was the one who performed the consecration of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya and was the proposer of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's nomination from Varanasi for the general elections.
Born in 1965, Shastri was conferred with Padma Shri for his contribution to the field of education and literature. Originally from South India, he lives in Varanasi where he set up a Shastrarthshala.
He was also the inaugurator of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor and plays a key role in the special events held at Vishwanath Dham. One of the noted astrologers of the world, Shastri has received the Jagatguru Ramanandacharya Award and lives in Kashi's Ramghat area on the banks of the Ganges. His father, Rajrajeshwar Shastri Dravid, was a Padma Bhushan and the central government had given him the title Panditraj.
Padma Awards
The Padma 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 2025, the President has approved the conferment of 139 Padma Awards. The list comprises 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. As many as 23 of the awardees are women. The list also includes 13 Posthumous awardees.
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