Padma awards: Venkaiah Naidu, Mithun Chakraborty, Usha Uthup honoured

Padma awards: Venkaiah Naidu, Mithun Chakraborty, Usha Uthup honoured

Subject: Polity

Sec: Constitution

Context:

• Former Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, actor Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup, and tennis player Rohan Bopanna were among the recipients of Padma Awards presented by President Droupadi Murmu.

Details:

• Naidu, along with the late founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak, and Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam, received the Padma Vibhushan, India’s second-highest civilian award.
• Chakraborty, Uthup, and others were awarded the Padma Bhushan, including a Gujarat-based cardiologist, a veteran Marathi film director, and a physician known for his work on Kala Azar.
• The ceremony also honoured various individuals with the Padma Shri, including artists, singers, and a spiritual leader from Tripura.
• In total, the President approved 132 Padma awards for 2024.

About Padma awards:

• One of the highest civilian honours of India.
• Announced annually on the eve of Republic Day (except for a brief interruption(s) during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.).
• Given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
• The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
• Conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made.
  • The Padma Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes the Home Secretary, Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members.
• Eligibility:
  • All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards.
• A higher category of Padma award can be conferred on a person only where a period of at least five years has elapsed since the conferment of the earlier Padma award. However, in highly deserving cases, a relaxation can be made by the Awards Committee.
• The total number of awards to be given in a year (excluding posthumous awards and to NRI/foreigners/OCIs) should not be more than 120.
• The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardees’ name.

HISTORY AND RELEVANCE

• The Government of India instituted two civilian awards–Bharat Ratna & 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 January 8, 1955.

BHARAT RATNA:

• Highest civilian award of the country.
• Awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.
• It is treated on a different footing from the Padma Award.
• The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India.
• No formal recommendations for Bharat Ratna are necessary.
• The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.
• The government has conferred the Bharat Ratna Award on 53 persons till date.

Source: TH