Govt announces Padma Awards: Here are the winners

The government on Thursday announced the Padma award winners on the eve of Republic Day. MS Dhoni has got Padma Bhushan Award. Illyaraja got the prestigious Padma Vivhushan Award.

Padma Vibhushan Award 2017 to be conferred upon:
Ilayaraja - Art (Music)
Ghulam Mustafa Khan - Art (Music)
Parameswaran Parameswaran - Literature & Education

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

#PadmaBhushan 2017 to be conferred upon:
Pankaj Advani - Sport (Billiards/Snooker)
Philipose Mar Chrysostom - Others (Spiritualism)
Mahendra Singh Dhoni - Sports (Cricket)
Alexander Kadakin (Foreigner/Posthumous) - Public Affairs
Ramachandran Nagaswamy - Others (Archaeology)

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

#PadmaBhushan Award 2017 to be conferred upon:
Ved Prakash Nanda - Literature and Education
Laxman Pai - Art (Painting)
Arvind Parikh - Art (Music)
Sharda Sinha - Art (Music)

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

PadmaSri awardees from ASEAN countries:

Padma Shree awardees from ASEAN countries:
Malai Haji Abdullah Bin MalaiHaji Othman of Brunei Darussalam (Medicine)
Hun Many of Cambodia (Public Affairs)
I NyomanNuarta of Indonesia (Art)
BounlapKeokangna of Laos (Art)
DatukRamli Bin Ibraham of Malaysia (Art)

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

Padma Shree awardees from ASEAN countries:
Dr Thant Myint-U of Myanmar (Public Affairs)
Jose Ma Joey Concepcion III of Philippines (Trade & industry)
Tommy Koh of Singapore (Public Affairs)
SomdetPhraAriyaWongsaKhottayan of Thailand (Others)
Nguyen Tien Thien of Vietnam (Others)

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

Keeping its promise of honouring "unsung heroes", the government today announced Padma Shri awards for personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally.

Lakshmikutty, a tribal woman from Kerala, who prepares 500 herbal medicine from memory and help thousands of people especially in snake and insect bite cases, is among the awardees.

She teaches at Kerala Folklore Academy and lives in a small hut made of palm leaves roof in tribal settlement in a forest. She is the only tribal woman from her area to attend school in the 1950s.

Arvind Gupta, an IIT Kanpur alumnus who inspired generations of students to learn science from thrash, has also been honoured with Padma Shri.

Gupta visited 3,000 schools in four decades, made 6,200 short films on toy-making in 18 languages and also hosted popular TV show Tarang in 1980s.

Internationally-acclaimed Gond artist Bhajju Shyam has also been awarded the Padma Shri.

Shyam is famous for depicting Europe through Gond paintings, a tribal style of painting of Madhya Pradesh. Born in a poor tribal family, he worked as a night guard and electrician to support family before becoming a professional artist.

His 'The London Jungle Book' sold 30,000 copies and it was published in five foreign languages.

West Bengal's Sudhanshu Biswas, a 99-year-old freedom fighter who serves poor, runs school and orphanages and set up free school for poor, is also among the winners.

Kerala's medical messiah to terminally ill, M R Rajagopal, has also been honoured with Padma Shri.

Rajagopal has specialised in pain relief care for neo natal cases.

Since last year, the Modi government has been honouring "unsung heroes" with the Padma awards to recognise people who have dedicated their lives to working for the poor or have risen from deprived backgrounds to excel in their own fields.

Maharashtra's Murlikant Petkar, India's first para- Olympic gold medalist, who lost his arm in 1965 Indo-Pak war, is another winner of the Padma Shri.

Tamil Nadu's Rajagopalan Vasudevan, who is known as plastic road-maker of India, developed a patented and innovative method to reuse plastic waste to construct roads, has also been given the Padma Shri.

Subhasini Mistry, a poor lady from rural West Bengal, who toiled 20 years as housemaid and daily labourer to build a hospital for poor in the state, is another awardee.

Nonagenarian farm labourer Sulagatti Narasamma, who provides midwifery services in backward region of Karnataka without any medical facility, too was awarded the Padma Shri.

Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan, an acclaimed Tamil folk exponent, who has dedicated her life towards collection, documentation and preservation of Tamil folk and tribal music, has also been given Padma Shri.

Another awardee is Yeshi Dhoden, monk physician of Tibetan herbal medicine working in remote areas of Himachal Pradesh. 

Padma Shree 2017 conferred upon:
Arvind Gupta - Literature & education (affordable education)
Lakshmikutty - Medicine (snake bite)
Bhajju Shyam - Art (Painting - Gond Art)
Sudhanshu Biswas - Social service
MR Rajagopal - Medicine (Palliative Care)
Murlikant Petkar - Sports

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

Padma Shree 2017 conferred upon:
Rajagopalan Vasudevan - Science & Engineering (Innvoation)
Subhasini Mistry - Social work
Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan - Literature & education (affordable education)
Sulagatti Narasamma - Medicine
Yeshi Dhoden - Medicine

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

Padma Shree 2017 conferred upon:
Rani and Abhay Bang - Medicine (Affordable Healthcare)
Lentina Ao Thakkar - Social Work (Service)
Romulus Whitaker - Others (Wildlife Conservation)
Sampat Ramteke - Social Work
Sanduk Ruit - Medicine (Ophthalmology)

— ANI (@ANI) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Arvind Gupta - the man known for #TurningTrashToToys and teaching #ScienceFromTrash pic.twitter.com/xbPYujaVtv

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Bhajju Shyam - an internationally acclaimed #Gond artist known for depicting life in Europe through Gond paintings pic.twitter.com/dynzxIqpol

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

#PadmaShri 2018 awardee Lakshmikutty is a #PoisonHealer who uses traditional knowledge to prepare natural medicines and save lives pic.twitter.com/KoOZ0HT5ZD

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Wildlife conservationist Romulus Whitaker, known as #SnakeManofIndia, is one of the #PadmaShri 2018 awardees pic.twitter.com/uq8fBdl9k9

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardees Rani and Abhay Gang who have revolutionized community-based primary health care in India and globally; ASHA, the backbone of Indian rural healthcare system has been adopted from this pic.twitter.com/2h2svWBGrk

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Late Sampat Ramteke, a Sickle Cell Torchbearer and self-taught expert of the disease, whose efforts led to policy changes in the area pic.twitter.com/vUti2uGMQS

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

He has gifted vision to more than 1 lakh people. Through low-cost cataract surgery. Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Sanduk Ruit pic.twitter.com/uNpLRvl0vG

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

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Meet #PadmaShri Sudhanshu Biswas - the 99 year old freedom fighter who dedicated his entire life to serve the poor and the downtrodden #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/rljkReB0iU

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

India's oldest Yoga teacher is one of the #PadmaShri 2018 awardees. 98-year-old V Nanammal has trained more than 10 lakh students and teaches 100 students daily. 600 of her students have become Yoga instructors around the world. #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/4fwA8JLvi4

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

#PadmaShri 2018 awardee Nouf Marwaai is the first certified #Yoga instructor in Saudi Arabia; has taught more than 3,000 students and certified 70+ Yoga teachers. Ushering in a Yoga revolution in Saudi Arabia. #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/9GFDO7CHJX

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri awardee Sulagatti Narasamma - the nonagenarian #JananiAmma who has performed over 15,000 traditional deliveries till date - all free of charge! #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/HrW7m1k01t

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Subhasini Mistry - the #MaanavtaKiMisaal who toiled for over 20 years to build #HumanityHospital to provide free healthcare to the poor #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/64MGhcKLNz

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Subhasini Mistry - the #MaanavtaKiMisaal who toiled for over 20 years to build #HumanityHospital to provide free healthcare to the poor #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/64MGhcKLNz

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri awardee Rajagopalan Vasudevan - the #PlasticRoadmaker of India who developed an innovative method to reuse plastic waste to construct roads , a technique which he offered for free to the Govt. of India - a true philanthrophist indeed! #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/MV0Q3zwEqU

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri awardee Murlikant Petkar - a war-hero who became India's first Paralympic Gold medalist, winning in the 50 metre freestyle swimming event - a true #JaanbaazJalSipahi #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/2rNUYlWZT6

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee M.R. Rajagopal - the father of #PalliativeCare in India, the guiding beacon towards a pain-free India #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/DltMa8WEGW

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri awardee Vijaylakshmi Navaneethakrishnan - the #TamilFolkEncyclopedia who dedicated her entire life to the research and collection of ancient Tamil folk songs and dances. #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/puGfWiZXck

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri 2018 awardee Yeshi Dhoden - the #MonkHealer who is the foremost expert of Sowa Rigpa and has treated thousands of patients using just herbal medicines and diet #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/0WgvcV0XvQ

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018

Meet #PadmaShri awardee Lentina Ao Thakkar - the #GandhianUtsu who displayed exemplary courage in embracing Gandhiji and working in his name in the Naga Hills since 1950s #UnsungHeroes pic.twitter.com/Eu4HqGZAbU

— PIB India (@PIB_India) January 25, 2018