Actor Amitabh Bachchan and Prince Karim Aga Khan were among the eminent personalities awarded the Padma Vibhushan by President Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday.
Besides them, the Supreme Court advocate KK Venugopal high level and D. Veerendra Heggade of Dharmasthala famous Jain temple in Karnataka Padma Vibhushan also conferred.
Padma Vibhushan was also conferred on Malur Ramaswamy Srinivasan for his work in science and engineering and lawyer KK Venugopal of public affairs.
Apart from Padma Vibhushan, President awarded prizes in other award categories Padma, namely, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Filmmaker Jahnu got Padma Bhushan Barua.
Hockey player Saba Anjum, women cricketer Mithali Raj, economist Bibek Debroy, TV Mohandas Pai IT honcho and musician Ravindra Jain were given Padma Shri.
The prime minister Narendra Modi, vice president Hamid Ansari, Interior Minister Rajnath Singh, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal Delhi were among the prominent dignitaries present at the event.
Big B’s son Abhishek Bachchan, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and her daughter Shweta Nanda were also present at the ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
The awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day this year.
Megastar Amitabh Bachchan was honored with Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian award, on April 8 by President Pranab Mukherjee.
The entire Bachchan clan, including his wife Jaya, Abhishek, Aishwarya Rai, Aaradhya granddaughter, daughter Shweta Bachchan Nanda with husband Nikhil Nanda and grandchildren Navya and Agastya attended the ceremony in New Delhi.
The 72-year-old actor has been awarded the Padma Shri in 1989 and the Padma Bhushan in 2001 for his contribution in the field of Indian cinema.
However, Big B is not the only person to receive this prestigious award in his family. His father Harivansh Rai Bachchan was honored with the Padma Bhushan way back in 1976, while Amitabh Bachchan’s wife Jaya received the Padma Shri in 1992. His daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also received the Padma Shri in 2009.
Meanwhile, the awards ceremony was also attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several ministers of the Union.
