New Delhi, Jan 26: A total of 85 eminent personalities were on Friday night selected for the prestigious Padma awards with Music Maestro Illaiyaraja and RSS ideologue Parameswaran getting Padma Vibhushan, former Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Painter Laxman Pai among the 9 chosen for Padma Bhushan and 73 chosen for Padma Shri.
14 of the awardees are women. The list also includes 16 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 3 Posthumous awardees.
Like last year, Padma Awards continue to have the category as ‘unsung heroes’.
