President Mukherjee gives away Padma Awards

New Delhi, April 12:

Megastar Rajinikanth, actress Priyanka Chopra and tennis player Sania Mirza are some of the prominent persons conferred with Padma awards by President Pranab Mukherjee on Tuesday at an impressive investiture ceremony in Rastrapati Bhavan here.

The awards were conferred in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.

The President presented five Padma Vibhushan, 11 Padma Bhushan and 36 Padma Shri awards at the function. Three of the listed Padma Shri awardees could not make it to the function.

Padma Awards, the most prestigious honours in the country, for the year of 2016 were announced in January this year and were conferred in two ceremonies.

On March 28, actors Ajay Devgn, Anupam Kher and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar received their Padma awards along with many others.

Among the dignitaries present on the occasion on Tuesday were Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) president Amit Shah also attended the function.

The awardees include media baron Ramoji Rao, singer Udit Narayan, chairperson of Bennett, Coleman and Company Limited Indu Jain, Prof N.S. Ramanuja Tatacharya. (IANS)