President Ram Nath Kovind presented the Padma awards for 2021 to as many as 119 personalities, including six from Odisha at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Tuesday.
Eminent sculptor Sudarshan Sahoo was conferred the Padma Vibhushan 2021, the second highest civilian award in the country, for his contribution in the field of art. He is one among seven who were felicitated with the Padma Vibhushan. Sahoo had received the Padma Shri in 1988.
Similarly, Rajat Kumar Kar and Nanda Prusty from the State received the Padma Shri for their contributions to Literature and Education.
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Shanti Devi was conferred with Padma Shri for social work while Purnamasi Jani received the Padma Shri for art. Krushna Mohan Padhi has been honoured with Padma Shri for his contribution in the medicine category.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other top personalities from political and other fields also graced the event.
The Padma awards were given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhusan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
This time, as many as 119 Padma Awards were presented by the President. Among them were 7 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri Awards. 29 awardees are women while 16 are posthumous and 1 transgender awardee.