President Ram Nath Kovind on Saturday presented the remaining Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards for 2019 at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi.
The awards were conferred in two ceremonies with 47 dignitaries receiving the honour on March 11, while 54 were honoured on Saturday.
The ceremony in the imposing Durbar Hall of Rashtrapati Bhavan saw the attendance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, his cabinet colleagues Rajnath Singh, Harsh Vardhan, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, Vijay Goel besides senior BJP leader L K Advani and senior government officials.
As many as 112 'inspiring' personalities were selected for this year's Padma awards and their names were announced on the eve of Republic Day this year.
Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir, actor Manoj Bajpayee, mountaineer Bachendri Pal, ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan and Odisha tea seller D Prakash Rao were among the recipients of the honour.
Have a look!
Former cricketer Gautam Gambhir receives the Padma Shri from the president. A leading batsmen of the Indian team, he played a critical role in India winning the T20 Cricket World Cup 2007 and World Cup 2011. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Actor Manoj Bajpayee is conferred with the Padma Shri for his portrayal of unconventional and critically acclaimed roles. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Footballer Sunil Chhetri is conferred with the Padma Shri in sports. He is the captain of national football team and is currently the all time leading scorer and the most capped player for India. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Harvinder Singh Phoolka receives Padma Shri for public affairs. A senior advocate of the Supreme Court, Phoolka is a prominent human rights and child rights activist, and has fought for justice for the victims of 1984 anti-Sikh violence. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
President Kovind presents the Padma Bhushan to Mahashay Dharampal Gulati for trade and industry. He is the chairman of 'Mahashian Di Hatti' (MDH) and an icon in the Indian food industry. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Former Comptroller and Auditor General of India V K Shunglu gets the Padma Bhushan for civil service. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Dr Tsering Norboo is conferred with the Padma Shri for his work in the field of medicine. He is the founder of Ladakh Institute of Prevention, creating awareness about occupational health, environmental health, life style related diseases and high altitude medicine. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Saalumarada Thimmakka is awarded with the Padma Shri for planting thousands of trees in Karnataka. Aged 107, Thimmakka, who has earned the sobriquet of Vriksha Mathe (mother of trees) for planting over 8,000 trees including over 400 banyan trees, is an environmentalist from Karnataka and is known for planting banyan trees along a 4 km stretch of highway from her village Hulikal to Kudur. Born in Hulikal village in Karnataka, Vriksha Mathe has planted thousands of trees during a period of 65 years. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Actor Dinyar R Contractor receives the Padma Shri from President Kovind for his contribution in the field of art. He is a popular theatre actor and a film personality. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
German national Friederike Irina Bruning, who takes care of sick cows, gets the Padma Shri. A social worker, Friederike is contributing towards the welfare of cows and calves in Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Chinapillai gets the Padma Shri from President Kovind for social work. She is a social worker from Tamil Nadu and is associated with “Kalanjiam Mutual Movement”. She is working for women empowerment and socio-economic transformation of underprivileged people. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Archer L Bombayla Devi gets the Padma Shri for Sports. She is the only woman archer who represented India in three consecutive Olympic Games -- Beijing Olympics 2008, London Olympics 2012 and Rio Olympics 2016. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Mountaineer Bachendri Pal is conferred with the Padma Bhushan for her work in sports. The first Indian woman to climb Mount Everest, she is widely recognised for her pioneering role in mountaineering and adventure sports, especially for women. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
Larsen and Toubro chairman Anil Kumar Naik receives the Padma Vibhushan from President Ram Nath Kovind for his contribution to trade and industry. Photograph: @rashtrapatibhvn/Twitter
