Srikanth, Ilaiyaraaja and Others: Full List of Padma Award Winners

President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Shri on Badminton player Kidambi Srikanth during the Padma Awards 2018 function at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

(Photo: PTI)

Noted music composer Ilaiyaraaja, Hindutva thinker Parameswaran Parameswaran, former Team India captain MS Dhoni were among the 85 people chosen for the prestigious Padma awards of 2018.

On Tuesday, 20 March, President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma Awards at a ceremony in Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Among the awardees this year, 16 are from the category of foreigners, non-resident Indians and three are posthumous.

Seventy four-year-old Ilaiyaraaja, who has been conferred with Padma Bhushan in 2009, was selected for Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna.

Besides him, noted Hindustani classical singer Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Kerala’s Parameswaran Parameswaran, president of Vivekananda Kendra, Kanyakumari, were honoured with Padma Vibhushan.

Dhoni, cueist Pankaj Advani, former Russian Ambassador to India late Alexander Kadakin, Hindustani classical musician Arvind Parikh, Tamil Nadu-based archaeologist Ramachandran Nagaswamy and Goan artist Laxman Pai were among nine prominent personalities who were honoured with Padma Bhushan.

Keeping its promise of honouring "unsung heroes", the government honoured with Padma awards several personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally.

Scientist toymaker Arvind Gupta, Gond painting artist Bhajju Shyam, herbal medicine expert – also known as 'grandmother of medicine' – Lakshmikutty are among the ‘unsung heroes’ awarded the Padma Shri this year.

Other awardees are India’s first Paralympic gold medallist Murlikant Petkar in the sports category, plastic waste management expert Rajagopalan Vasudevan for his contribution to the field of science and innovation, housemaid Subhasini Mistry and midwife Sulagatti Narasamma for their contribution towards affordable healthcare.

Tamil folk exponent Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan and monk physician Yeshi Dhoden also bagged the Padma Shri this year.

Here is a list of some of the Padma Shri awardees along with their achievements:

There were a total 85 Padma Awards announced this year, down from last year’s 89.

Here is the complete list of the Padma Awardees this year:

Padma Vibhushan

1. Shri Ilaiyaraaja, from Tamil Nadu, in Art and Music.
2. Shri Ghulam Mustafa Khan, from Maharashtra, in Art and Music.
3. Shri Parameswaran Parameswaran, from Kerala, in Literature and Education.

Padma Bhushan

1. Shri Pankaj Advani won in Sports for his contribution in Billiards/Snooker. He hails from Karnataka
2. Shri Philipose Mar Chrysostom won under the Others category for working towards Spiritualism. He hails from Kerala
3. Shri Mahendra Singh Dhoni won in Sports for his remarkable contribution towards Indian Cricket.
4. Shri Alexander Kadakin, a Foreigner, won the Padma Bhushan in Public Affairs. He comes from Russia.
5. Shri Ramachandran Nagaswamy also won under the Others category for contributions in the field of Archaeology. He belongs to Tamil Nadu
6. Shri Ved Prakash Nanda won the Padma Bhushan in Literature and Education.
7. Shri Laxman Pai won the award for his contribution in Art and Painting.
8. Shri Arvind Parikh won the award in the field of Art and Music.
9. Ms. Sharda Sinha also won the award in the field of Art and Music.

Padma Shri

1. Shri Abhay Bang (Duo) won in Medicine with his wife, Ms Rani Bang
2. Shri Damodar Ganesh Bapat won the Padma Shri in Social Work
3. Shri Prafulla Govinda Baruah won the award in Literature and Education for his contribution to Journalism
4. Shri Mohan Swaroop Bhatia won the Padma Shri in Art for his Folk Music
5. Shri Sudhanshu Biswas won the award in Social Work
6. Ms Saikhom Mirabai Chanu won in Sports for Weightlifting
7. Shri Pandit Shyamlal Chaturvedi won in Literature and Education for his contribution to Journalism
8. Shri Jose Ma Joey Concepcion III (Foreigner), Trade & Industry, Philippines
9. Ms Langpoklakpam Subadani Devi - Art-Weaving
10. Shri Somdev Devvarman - Sports (Tennis)
11. Shri Yeshi Dhoden - Medicine
12. Arup Kumar Dutta - Literature and Education
13. Shri Doddarange Gowda - Art (Lyrics)
14. Shri Arvind Gupta - Literature and Education
15. Shri Digamber Hansda - Literature and Education
16. Shri Ramli Bin Ibrahim (Foreigner) - Art-Dance
17. Shri Anwar Jalalpuri (Posthumous) - Literature and Education
18. Shri Piyong Temjen Jamir - Literature and Education
19. Ms Sitavva Joddati - Social Work
20. Ms. Malti Joshi - Literature and Education
21. Shri Manoj Joshi - Art (Acting)
22. Shri Rameshwarlal Kabra - Trade & Industry
23. Shri Pran Kishore Kaul - Art
24. Shri Bounlap Keokangna (Foreigner) - Others - Architecture
25. Shri Vijay Kichlu Art - Music
26. Shri Tommy Koh (Foreigner) - Public Affairs
27. Ms Lakshmikutty - Medicine-Traditional
28. Ms Joyshree Goswami Mahanta- Literature and Education
29. Shri Narayan Das Maharaj Others - Spiritualism
30. Shri Pravakara Maharana Art - Sculpture
31. Shri Hun Many (Foreigner) - Public Affairs
32. Ms Nouf Marwaai (Foreigner) - Others-Yoga
33. Shri Zaverilal Mehta - Literature and Education-Journalism
34. Shri Krishna Bihari Mishra - Literature and Education
35. Shri Sisir Purushottam Mishra Art - Cinema
36. Ms. Subhasini Mistry - Social Work
37. Shri Tomio Mizokami (Foreigner) - Literature and Education
38. Shri Somdet Phra Maha Muniwong (Foreigner) - Others-Spiritualism
39. Shri Keshav Rao Musalgaonkar - Literature and Education
40. Dr Thant Myint – U (Foreigner) - Public Affairs
41. Ms V Nanammal - Others-Yoga
42. Ms Sulagitti Narasamma - Social Work
43. Ms Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan - Art-Folk Music
44. Shri I Nyoman Nuarta (Foreigner) - Art-Sculpture
45. Shri Malai Haji Abdullah Bin Malai Haji Othman (Foreigner) - Social Work
46. Shri Gobaradhan Panika - Art-Weaving
47. Shri Bhabani Charan Pattanaik - Public Affairs
48. Shri Murlikant Petkar - Sports-Swimming
49. Shri Habibullo Rajabov (Foreigner) - Literature and Education
50. Shri MR Rajagopal - Medicine-Palliative Care
51. Shri Sampat Ramteke (Posthumous) - Social Work
52. Shri Chandra Sekhar Rath- Literature and Education
53. Shri SS Rathore - Civil Service
54. Shri Amitava Roy - Science and Engineering
55. Shri Sanduk Ruit (Foreigner) - Medicine (Ophthalmology)
56. Shri R Sathyanarayana - Art-Music
57. Shri Pankaj M Shah - Medicine (Oncology)
58. Shri Bhajju Shyam - Art-Painting
59. Shri Maharao Raghuveer Singh - Literature and Education
60. Shri Kidambi Srikanth - Sports-Badminton
61. Shri Ibrahim Sutar - Art-Music
62. Shri Siddeshwara Swamiji - Others-Spiritualism
63. Ms Lentina Ao Thakkar - Social Work
64. Shri Vikram Chandra Thakur - Science and Engineering
65. Shri Rudrapatnam Narayanaswamy Tharanathan with Shri Rudrapatnam Narayanaswamy Thyagarajan - Art (Music)
66. Shri Nguyen Tien Thien (Foreigner) - Others-Spiritualism
67. Shri Bhagirath Prasad Tripathi - Literature and Education
68. Shri Rajagopalan Vasudevan - Science and Engineering
69. Shri Manas Bihari Verma - Science and Engineering
70. Shri Panatawane Gangadhar Vithobaji - Literature and Education
71. Shri Romulus Whitaker - Others (Wildlife Conservation)
72. Shri Baba Yogendra - Art
73. Shri A Zakia - Literature and Education

The Padma awards, which seek to recognise works of distinction and exceptional achievements in different fields were announced on Thursday, 25 January, on the eve of Republic Day.

The awards – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – are announced on the eve of the Republic Day every year.

They are given in different fields and disciplines such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.

More than 15,700 people applied for the prestigious awards for 2018, with the government laying stress on honouring the “unsung heroes”.

Since last year, the Modi government has been honouring "unsung heroes" with the Padma awards to recognise people who have dedicated their lives to working for the poor or have risen from deprived backgrounds to excel in their own fields.

Recommendations can also be made by the state governments, Union territories, ministries and departments of the Government of India, previous Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, central and state ministers, chief ministers, state governors and Members of Parliament.

The nominations are placed before the Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister every year, which takes the final decision.

Last year, the number of Padma awardees was 89, which included seven recipients each of Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.

The Government of India instituted two civilian awards - Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan in 1954. The latter had three classes namely Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri vide Presidential Notification issued on 8 January 1955.

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This story has been updated. It was first published on 26 January 2018.

(With inputs from PTI)