President Murmu conferred 71 of the 139 distinguished persons who were named for the country’s civilian awards — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
As many as 57 prominent personalities were conferred with the Padma Shri.
Tamil actor S. Ajith Kumar,Vinod Dham,an Indian-American engineer widely known as the ‘Father of the Pentium’, were among the 10 most distinguished personalities conferred with Padma Bhushan.
This year, the Padma awards were given to 30 unsung heroes, also including 100-year-old Libia Lobo Sardesai, who played an important role in Goa’s freedom movement.