Vax makers, tech heads get Padma awards

Vaccine makers Cyrus Poonawalla, founder of Pune-based Serum Institute of India (SII); and Covaxin maker Bharat Biotech Chairman Krishna Ella and his co-founder wife Suchitra Ella will be awarded Padma Bhushan, the country’s third highest civilian award, for their contribution in driving the Covid-19 vaccination in the country.

The President of India approved conferment of 128 Padma Awards this year on Tuesday that also includes the name of Tata Dons Chairman Natarajan Chandrasekaran and Indian origin heads of global tech companies including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella and Google’s Sundar Pichai as the Padma Bhushan awardees.

In all 17 persons will be Padma Bhushan awards this year and five of the names including the duo from Bharat Biotech are from the field of trade and industry. Of the 128 Padma Awards, 4 ate Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri awards. In all 34 awardees are women and 10 from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI.

The award for the vaccine makers come in recognition of the important role played by their companies in extending the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the country. Both pharmaceutical firms – SII and Bharat Biotech – and their vaccines Covishield and Covaxin have led vaccination drive in the country with the two vaccines being available at the lowest possible price in the world.

Indian-American business executives – Nadella, 54, and Pichai, 49 – have also been honoured for contribution in the technology space. Both having roots in India are also undertaking several projects in the country and are involved in several government programmes.

General Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defence Staff who died last month in a chopper crash in Tamil Nadu along with his wife and 12 others, has been awarded Padma Vibhushan. The second highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna will also be awarded to Kalyan Singh posthumously.

Jaipur born and Japan settled Ryuko Hira, and the owner of HMI Hotel Group, which runs a chain of hotels and resorts in Japan had been conferred Padma Shri in trade and industry category.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had earlier asked people to send Padma awards nominations for those “doing exceptional work at the grassroots but not much known.”

The Padma awards—Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan—are among the highest civilian honours awarded by the Indian government on Republic Day’ eve after being recommended by a Padma Awards Committee. This committee headed by cabinet secretary has union home secretary, secretary to the President and other eminent persons as members. The awards instituted in the year 1954, is announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day except for brief interruption(s) during the years 1978 and 1979 and 1993 to 1997.

With the awards facing controversy over some time now, the government on its part has been trying to introduce greater transparency in the award process and earlier launched an interactive dashboard of all the awardees since the awards have been given.