President Ram Nath Kovind (Express Photo by Amit Mehra/File)President Ram Nath Kovind will confer the 2019 Padma awards, one of the highest civilian honors, on March 11. The awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
On January 26, the government had announced a total of 112 names for the prestigious awards. The first set of awardees will include 56 names who are invited at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on March 11 and the second ceremony for another 56 awardees will take place on March 16.
Among the 112 awardees, 94 will be bestowed with Padma Shri, 14 will be conferred with Padma Bhushan, and four will be handed out Padma Vibhushan. 21 of the awardees are women, 11 persons are from the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI; there are three posthumous awardees and one transgender person.
The award seeks to recognize achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved. The awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
Here’s the full list of awardees
