This Article is From Jan 25, 2017

Padma Award 2017: Top Honour For Sharad Pawar, Murli Manohar Joshi

Sharad Pawar, chief of Nationalist Congress Party, is on the honours list for Padma Awards.

New Delhi: Sharad Pawar, chief of the Nationalist Congress Party or NCP, and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi have been awarded the country's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, this year. The Padma Shri awards celebrate the "Unsung Hero", with a 68-year-old martial art expert, a weaver and several doctors sharing honours with India's cricket and hockey captains Virat Kohli and PR Shreejesh and Olympic champs Sakshi Malik and Dipa Karmakar. Paralympian medalists Mariappan Thangavelu and Deepa Malik have also been awarded the Padma Shri. Singing legend KJ Yesudas has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma and Madhya Pradesh BJP leader Sunder Lal Patwa have been awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

Here are the 10 facts in this big story:

  1. Only 89 people have been given the Padma award this year -- the shortest list in recent times.

  2. The list has 7 Padma Vibhushans, 7 Padma Bhushans and 75 Padma Shri Awardees.

  3. Among the awardees, 19 are women. The list also includes 5 persons from the category of foreigners, Non-Resident Indians and Persons of Indian Origin.

  4. Six persons have been given the award posthumously - among them are former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Sunder Lal Patwa.  

  5. In the Padma Shri list, the government has highlighted the achievements of some of India's 'unsung heroes' -- people from various walks of life who have done exceptional work.

  6. After Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are India's three highest civilian awards. They are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.

  7. The usual practice is to invite Padma nominations from state governments, Union Territories, ministries and departments of the Central government.

  8. This time, in May last year, the government had invited nominations for the awards. They were to be filed online through www.padmaawards.com.

  9. Overall, the website had received around 5,000 entries, of which 500 names were shortlisted in December.

  10. The felicitation ceremony, in which the awardees receive a medal and a citation, is usually held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in March or April.



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