New Delhi: Four persons from Orissa are among the 85 Padma awardees this year, whose list has been made public by the Ministry of Home Affairs here late Thursday night.
As per the list, the Padma award selection committee has chosen four deserving candidates from Orissa from the fields of art sculpture, literature, education and public affairs for the prestigious civil awards, which has been approved by the President.
All these four names from Orissa have been selected by the government for conferring the Padma Shri award, the third highest civilian award among the Padma awards.
This year, the awardees selected included from Orissa include Pravakara Maharana for his valuable contributions to the field of art sculpture, while Gobardhan Panika has been chosen for his expertise and contribution to the art of weaving. In the field of literature and education, Chandra Shekhar Rath from the state has been chosen for the Padma Shri. Meanwhile, Bhabani Charan Pattanaik has been chosen for his valuable contribution to public affairs for the award.
The Padma Shri award is given for distinguished services in any field. These awards are usually announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year and given by the President of India at the Rastrapati Bhavan in the month of March/April.
This year, the President of India has approved conferment of 85 Padma Awards including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one). This year’s Padma Award list included three Padma Vibhushan, nine Padma Bhushan and 73 Padma Shri Awards.
Fourteen of the awardees are women and the list also includes 16 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and three posthumous awardees.
PNN
