India’s highest civilian honors lit up the capital on January 25 as the government announced the Padma Awards for 2024. With 5 Vibhushan, 13 Bhushan, and 113 Shri recipients, this year’s selection underscores quiet dedication alongside public fame, drawn from 25 states, union territories, and NRIs/foreigners.
Padma Vibhushan elite: Cinema legend Dharmendra Deol (posthumous, Maharashtra-arts), judge KT Thomas (Kerala-public affairs), veena maestro N Rajam (UP-arts), scholar P Narayanan (Kerala-literature), and leader VS Achyutanandan (posthumous, Kerala-public affairs).
The Padma Bhushan cohort dazzles with Alka Yagnik (Maharashtra-arts), Bhagat Singh Koshyari (Uttarakhand-public affairs), Kallipatti Ramasami Palaniswami (TN-medicine), Mammootty (Kerala-arts), Nori Dattatreudu (USA-medicine), Piyush Pandey (posthumous, Maharashtra-arts), SKM Mailanandan (TN-social work), Shatavadhani R Ganesh (Karnataka-arts), Shibu Soren (posthumous, Jharkhand-public affairs), Uday Kotak (Maharashtra-trade), VK Malhotra (posthumous, Delhi-public affairs), Vellapalli Natesan (Kerala-public affairs), Vijay Amritraj (USA-sports).
Padma Shri’s 113 gems include scientists like Ashok Kumar Singh (UP), artists Chiranjilal Yadav (UP), Deepika Reddy (Telangana), social workers Inderjeet Singh Sidhu (Chandigarh), Janardan Bapurav Bothe (Maharashtra), athletes Praveen Kumar (UP), Rohit Sharma (Maharashtra), Savita Punia (Haryana), and medical marvels like Guduru Venkata Rao (Telangana), HV Hande (TN). Twins and couples—Gayatri-Ranjani Balasubramaniam (TN-arts), Ramchandra-Sunita Godbole (Chhattisgarh-medicine)—highlight family synergies.
International flavor: Professor Lars-Christian Koch (Germany-arts), Liudmila Khokhlova (Russia-literature), Pratik Sharma (USA-medicine). Regional diversity shines with Assam’s Jogesh Deuri (agriculture), Manipur’s Yumnam Jatra Singh (posthumous-arts), Meghalaya’s Haley War (social work), Nagaland’s Sanyusang Pongenener (arts).
Posthumous nods preserve memories of Hari Madhav Mukherjee (WB-arts), Kabindra Purkayastha (Assam-public affairs), Satish Shah (Maharashtra-arts). These awards, beyond glamour, spotlight unsung heroes like Taga Ram Bhil (Rajasthan-arts), Techi Gubin (Arunachal-social work).
In the spirit of Amrit Kaal, the Padma Awards bridge tradition and innovation, urging every Indian to contribute meaningfully.