Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley were both on Monday, 8 November, awarded the Padma Vibhushan award posthumously.
Family members of both the former Union ministers received the award on their behalf from President Ram Nath Kovind at Rashtrapati Bhawan.
Swaraj's daughter Bansuri Swaraj accepted the award from the president, while Jaitley's award was handed over to his wife Sangeeta Jaitley.
Bollywood personalities Kangana Ranaut, Adnan Sami, and Ekta Kapoor were among those who were honoured with the Padma Shri on Monday. Meanwhile, badminton player PV Sindhu, late former Assam CM Tarun Gogoi, and late politician Ram Vilas Paswan were among those awarded with the Padma Bhushan.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar were present at the ceremony, which saw the Padma awards for 2020 being handed over.
‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order, and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
A total of 119 Padma Awards were presented by President Kovind this year, including seven Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, and 102 Padma Shri awards.
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