President Ram Nath Kovind to confer Padma award to people today

NEW DELHI: President Ram Nath Kovind on April 2 (Monday) will provide the Padma Awards to 43 people in a ceremony at the Rashtrapathi Bhawan. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh on April 1, Sunday night hosted a dinner as well as addressed the 43 awardees at an event where MEA Sushma Swaraj, MoS for Home Kiren Rijiju, Secretary to President of India Sanjay Kothari and Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba were also present on the occasion. Union Home Minister said that the country was proud of all the Padma Awardees as they had a major contribution in the nation’s progress while Minister of External Affairs Sushma Swaraj said that every Padma Awardee worked hard in his or her field without any expectation of returns from the society. She appealed to media to highlight their achievements which were “adbhut, aviswasneeya aur akalpaniya”. The awards -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri -- are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year. These are given in different fields and disciplines such as art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, trade and industry.