List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (2010–19)

Padma Bhushan
Awarded by Government of India
Type	Civilian
Category	National
Description
Obverse	A centrally located lotus flower is embossed and the text "Padma" written in Devanagari script is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus.
Reverse	A platinum Emblem of India placed in the centre with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script
Ribbon
Statistics
Instituted	1954
First awarded	1954
Total awarded	195
Previous name(s)	Padma Vibhushan "Dusra Warg" (Class II)
Award rank ← Padma Vibhushan Padma Shri →

The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian honour of the Republic of India, preceded by the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Presented by the Government of India since 1954 for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex, the award consists of a certificate and a medallion and the recipient's name is registered in The Gazette of India. When instituted, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Warg", a class-two award under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the highest of the three, followed by the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri.^[1][2][3] The Padma Bhushan, along with other personal civilian honours, was briefly suspended twice since its inception; for the first time in July 1977 and the suspension was annulled on 25 January 1980 by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. The civilian awards were suspended again in mid-1992 for it being "titles" per an interpretation of Article 18 (1) of the Constitution of India.^{[4][lower-alpha 1]} On 25 August 1992, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a notice temporarily suspending all civilian awards.^[4] On 15 December 1995, the Special Division Bench restored the awards and delivered a judgment that the "Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles under Article 18 of the Constitution of India".^[6]

The conferment on an Indian-American businessman Sant Singh Chatwal in 2010 created much controversy. Chatwal, who was awarded the Padma Bhushan in the field of Public Affairs, is known for his association with former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton and pled guilty to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act and witness tampering during the United States presidential election.^[7] He was also accused of lobbying for the award by leveraging "his contacts in the Prime Minister's Office and United States Congress".^[8] The Government, however, issued a press release defending the conferment. The statement mentioned Chatwal as a "tireless advocate" of the country's interest in the United States and clarified that out of five Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered cases against him between 1992 and 1994, three were closed by CBI itself and in remaining two cases, Chatwal was discharged by the Court and as per the reports that were made available to the selection committee, there was "nothing adverse on record against him".^[9][10] According to media reports, there were several cases filed or registered after April 2009 which includes three criminal complaints with Kerala Police and four cases in Delhi High Court and Kerala High Court. Chatwal also served summons in January 2010. However, the then Union Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai said that "no probe has been ordered nor any report sought from anyone".^[11] Earlier in 2008, Chatwal was considered for the Padma Shri but the Indian Embassy in Washington, D.C. declined to nominate Chatwal when asked by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). Ronen Sen who was then serving as the Indian Ambassador to the United States had told PMO that the conferral would not be appropriate because of the controversy associated with Chatwal's financial dealings in two countries. Sen had also mentioned that though positive, Chatwal's contribution are much less compared to other Indian-Americans and the bestowal would not only "demoralise the others who had done much more" but also would create "the impression that India did not regard lack of transparency in financial dealings as a disqualification for its highest honours".^[12]

In 2013, playback singer S. Janaki refused to accept her award and stated that "the award has come late in her five-and-half-decade long career". The singer also mentioned that she is not against the Government and expressed happiness for the recognition but requested the Government to "show some more consideration to the artists from the southern parts of the country.^[13] In 2014, family members of J. S. Verma who served as 27th Chief Justice of India refused the posthumous conferral stating that "Verma himself would not have accepted" the honour as he "never hankered or lobbied for any acclaim, reward or favour".^[14]

As of 2017, a total of one hundred and ninety-five individuals have been conferred with the award in 2010s. Forty-three conferments were presented in 2010, thirty-one in 2011, twenty-eight in 2012, twenty-three in 2013, twenty-four in 2014, twenty in 2015, nineteen in 2016, and seven in 2017. These included twenty-six foreign recipients; one each from the Bangladesh, Germany, Ireland, Singapore, and Thailand, three from United Kingdom, and eighteen from the United States. Individuals from ten different fields were awarded, which includes fifty-five artists, fourteen civil servants, thirty-three from literature and education, seventeen from medicine, twelve from public affairs, twenty-three from science and engineering, seven from social work, seven sportspersons, nineteen from trade and industry, and nine from other fields. Most recently on 25 January 2017, the award has been bestowed upon seven recipients; Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Deviprasad Dwivedi, Ratnasundarsuri, Niranjanananda Saraswati, Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn of Thailand, Tehemton Erach Udwadia, and posthumously on Cho Ramaswamy.^[15]

List of recipients

Ilaiyaraaja (2010)

Belle Monappa Hegde (2010)

Mallika Sarabhai (2010)

S. P. Balasubrahmanyam (2011)

Kris Gopalakrishnan (2011)

T. J. S. George (2011)

Dharmendra (2012)

Mira Nair (2012)

Arvind Panagariya (2012)

Rajesh Khanna (2013)

Mary Kom (2013)

Kamal Haasan (2014)

Ruskin Bond (2014)

K. Radhakrishnan (2014)

Jahnu Barua (2015)

Shivakumara Swami (2015)

Bill Gates and Melinda Gates (2015)

Anupam Kher (2016)

Robert Blackwill (2016)

Vinod Rai (2016)

Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn (2017)

Explanatory notes

Non-citizen recipients

Posthumous recipients

References

External links

• Official website
• "Awards & Medals". Ministry of Home Affairs (India). 14 September 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015. 

Indian honours and decorations
Civilian	National Bharat Ratna Padma Vibhushan Padma Bhushan Padma Shri Children National Bravery Award National Child Award for Exceptional Achievement National Bal Shree Honour Women Stree Shakti Puraskar Police President's Police Medal for Gallantry Police Medal for Gallantry Central Ganga Sharan Award George Grierson Award Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Award Moturi Satyanarayan Award National Award for Child Welfare Subramanya Bharathi Award By field Literature Sahitya Akademi Fellowship Sahitya Akademi Award Cinema Dadasaheb Phalke Award National Film Awards Other arts Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship Sangeet Natak Akademi Award Lalit Kala Akademi Fellowship Sports Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Arjuna Award Dronacharya Award Dhyan Chand Award Science & Technology Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize Kalinga Prize Gallantry Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak Uttam Jeevan Raksha Padak Jeevan Raksha Padak Medical Dr. B. C. Roy Award International Gandhi Peace Prize Indira Gandhi Peace Prize Tagore Award for Cultural Harmony
Military	Wartime Param Vir Chakra Maha Vir Chakra Vir Chakra Peacetime Ashoka Chakra Kirti Chakra Shaurya Chakra Distinguished Service & Gallantry Sena Medal Army Nao Sena Medal Navy Vayu Sena Medal Air Force Wartime Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal Uttam Yudh Seva Medal Yudh Seva Medal Peacetime Param Vishisht Seva Medal Ati Vishisht Seva Medal Vishisht Seva Medal Service and campaign medals Wound Medal General Service Medal 1947 Samanya Seva Medal Special Service Medal Samar Seva Star Poorvi Star Paschimi Star Operation Vijay Star Siachen Glacier Medal Raksha Medal Sangram Medal Operation Vijay Medal Operation Parakram Medal Sainya Seva Medal High Altitude Service Medal Videsh Seva Medal Long service awards Meritorious Service Medal Long Service and Good Conduct Medal 30 Years Long Service Medal 20 Years Long Service Medal 9 Years Long Service Medal Territorial Army Decoration Territorial Army Medal Independence Awards Indian Independence Medal 50th Independence Anniversary Medal 25th Independence Anniversary Medal Other Awards Mention in Dispatches Commendation Card