President Ram Nath Kovind presented the prestigious Padma awards for 2020 to as many as 141 personalities, including eleven from Odisha at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in Delhi on Monday.
The Government of India had deferred the Padma awards ceremony in 2020 to a later date as a precautionary step on the account of the outbreak coronavirus pandemic in the country in March.
Also Read
Eminent litterateur from Odisha, the late Manoj Das received the Padma Bhusan award (posthumously) for his contribution to literature. Das passed away while undergoing treatment at a nursing home in Puducherry on April 27, 2021. He was 87.
Das had earlier received the Padma Shri in 2001 and the Sahitya Akademi Award Fellowship, the highest literary award in the country, in 2006.
Similarly, Odisha's Binapani Mohanty, Dr Damayanti Beshra and Dr Prasanta Kumar Pattanaik received the Padma Shri award for their contributions towards literature and education.
The other recipients of the top honours from the State include-Mitrabhanu Gountia (Art), Manmohan Mohapatra (posthumous Art), Professor Digambar Behera (Medicine), Professor Radha Mohan (Agriculture), Sabarmatee (Agriculture), Utsab Charan Das (Art) and Batakrushna Sahoo (Animal Husbandry).
Padma awards are India’s top civilian honours and are given in three categories--- Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).
Among the 141 Padma Awards in 2020, 7 received Padma Vibhushan while 16 were conferred with Padma Bhusan and 118 with Padma Shri awards. 34 awardees are women and 18 foreigners. 12 persons are awarded posthumously.