Noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, cricket captain MS Dhoni and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are among 133 personailties honoured with Padma awards this year.
Chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission Anil Kakodkar, noted environmentalist Sunderlal Bahuguna, first Olympic Gold medalist Abhinav Bindra, cricket captain MS Dhoni and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan are among 133 personailties honoured with Padma awards this year.
Kakodkar, who was actively involved in bringing the Indo-US civil nuclear deal to fruition and 82-year-old Bahuguna, popular for his Chipko movement to save trees, were among the 10 distinguished persons to get Padma Vibhushan, the nation's second highest civilian award.
The other recipients included ISRO chief G Madhavan Nair, the man beyond the historic unmanned moon mission 'Chandrayaan', sister Nirmala of Kolkata-based Missionaries of Charities and first chancellor of Sweden-based World Maritime University Chandrika Prasad Srivastava.
Noted historian DP Chattopadhyaya, Jasbir Singh Bajaj(Punjab) and Purushotam Lal (UP, both medicine), former governor and noted civil servant Govind Narain and industrialist AS Ganguly(Maharashtra) were the other Padma Vibhushan awardees.
The country's highest civilian award - Bharat Ratna - has already been announced for noted 86-year-old vocalist Pandit Bhimsen Joshi in November last year.
Shooter Abhinav Bindra, Information Technology and National Knowledge Commission chairman Sam Pitroda, economist Isher Judge Ahulwalia and noted journalist and editor-in-chief of Indian Express Shekhar Gupta were among the 30 eminent personalities awarded Padma Bhushan.
Among the 93 persons chosen for Padma Shri were Team India captain MS Dhoni, spinner Harbhajan Singh, singer Udit narayan Bollywood actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Akshay Kumar, world billiards champion Pankaj Advani and R K Krishna Kumar of the Taj group of Hotels and veteran broadcaster Ameen Sayani.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}