President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday conferred Padma awards to distinguished honorees across diverse fields. From Pune, Deepak Dhar and KN Ganesh have made it to the list.
Indian Institutes of Science Education and Research (IISER), Pune's Professor Deepak Dhar from the Department of Physics was awarded the Padma Bhushan Award, and Founder Director of IISER Pune KN Ganesh was given Padma Shri Award. KN Ganesh is currently the Director of IISER Tirupati and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Chemistry of IISER Pune. Both awards were given in the field of Science and Engineering.
A total of 53 awardees were given the honour on Wednesday -- three Padma Vibhushan, five Padma Bhushan and 45 Padma Shri.
The other distinguished personalities were given the awards on March 22.
Padma awards are conferred in three categories -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. India's top civilian award, the Bharat Ratna, has not been given to anyone since 2019.
The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service among others.
Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, is given for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order; and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.
Many of the awardees are unsung heroes who have been silently working for the betterment of society and people, and whom the Narendra Modi government has been honouring ever since it came to power in 2014, officials said.
