Sudha Murthy, Kumar Birla Awarded Padma Bhushan; Rakesh Jhunjhunwala Gets Padma Shri Posthumously

Ahead of the 74th Republic Day, the Indian Government conferred the Padma awards to several distinguished people. Noted industrialist Kumara Mangalam Birla, novelist S L Bhyrappa, Sudha Murthy are among nine people awarded Padma Bhushan. Birla has been given the award under the ‘Trade & Industry’ category and Murthy for ‘social work’.

The late Rakesh Radheshyam Jhunjhunwala has been posthumously honoured with Padma Shri, India’s third-highest civilian award, for his contributions to the field of ‘trade and industry’.

Jhunjhunwala was popular among investors as India’s own Warren Buffet. He died of multiple ailments, including kidney issues, in Mumbai’s Breach Candy Hospital on August 14 last year.

The self-made business magnate, who believed risk was the essence of life and without it, one was nothing, managed his own portfolio as a partner in his asset management firm, Rare Enterprises.

He continued to remain bullish on domestic stock markets even as Dalal Street, along with global peers, faced multiple headwinds till he died.

Jhunjhunwala also ventured into the aviation industry with Akasa Air, which took flight on August 7 last year. Apart from being an investor, Jhunjhunwala was the chairman of Aptech Limited and Hungama Digital Media Entertainment Pvt Ltd. He was also among the directors of several Indian firms. He was also an advisor to India’s International Movement to Unite Nations.

For 2023, the President has approved the conferment of 106 Padma Awards including 3 duo cases. The list comprises 6 Padma Vibhushan, 9 Padma Bhushan & 91 Padma Shri. 19 awardees are women & the list also includes 2 persons from category of Foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI and 7 Posthumous awardees.

Samajwadi party’s Late leader Mulayam Singh Yadav, S M Krishna, percussionist Ustad Zakir Hussain are also among five people who were awarded Padma Vibhushan. Balkrishna Doshi, Srinivas Vardhan and Dilip Mahalanabis also selected for this year’s Padma Vibhushan.

The awards are announced on the occasion of India’s Republic Day, and are considered to be among the highest honors that can be bestowed upon an individual in India.

Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian awards in India, which are given to recognize exceptional and distinguished service to the nation in various fields such as art, literature, education, trade, and industry, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, and civil service. The awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. These awards are given by the President of India at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan.

‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.

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