Usha Uthup, Vijayakanth and Pyarelal Sharma among 17 awarded Padma Bhushan

Actors Vyjayantimala Bali and Konidela Chiranjeevi, Mithun Chakraborty, late Vijaykanth, singer Usha Uthup and music directr Pyarelal Sharma were among 132 eminent persons awarded Padma awards on Thursday.

The government already announced on Tuesday that it would confer the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, on two-time Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur posthumously.

Among the Padma awardees, 34 are unsung heroes including India's first woman elephant mahout Parbati Baruah, famous as "Hasti Kanya", tribal environmentalist Chami Murmu, social worker Sangthankima who runs Mizoram's largest orphanage and plastic surgeon Prema Dhanraj.

What more do we know about Padma Awards?

Five eminent persons who were awarded country's second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan included Naidu, Bali, Chiranjeevi, Pathak and Bharat Natyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam.

Padma Bhushan was awarded to 17 prominent persons including Beevi, Cama, Chakraborty, Young, Vijayakanth, Uthup, Naik, Group Editor and CEO of Gujarati newspaper Janmabhoomi Kundan Vyas, veteran actor and director Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo, former Union health minister CP Thakur and BJP leader Olanchery Rajagopal.

"‘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 the Republic Day every year," the statement said.

It said President Droupadi Murmu has approved conferment of 132 Padma Awards including 30 women and eight persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and nine posthumous awardees.

PM Modi congratulates

In a post on X, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "Congratulations to all those who have been conferred the Padma Awards. India cherishes their contribution across diverse sectors. May they continue to inspire people with their exceptional work." Home Minister Amit Shah said Prime Minister Modi has "rationalized" the Padma Awards ceremony to make it a platform to appreciate individuals setting pioneering examples for social change.

(With inputs from PTI)