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Padma Shri

Fourth highest civilian award of India

Field	Value
name	Padma Shri
image	Padma Shri India IIIe Klasse.jpg
alt	Padma Shri medal suspended from its riband
image_size	100px
type	National Civilian
country	India
established
firstawarded	1954
presenter
[[File:Emblem of India.svg	30px	State Emblem of India]]
Government of India
previous	Padma Vibhushan "Teesra Varg" (Class III)
obverse	A centrally located lotus flower is embossed and the text "Padma" written in Devanagari script is placed above and the text "Shri" is placed below the lotus.
reverse	A platinum State Emblem of India placed in the centre with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script
ribbon	[[File:Padma Shri Ribbon.svg	100px]]
higher	[[File:Kirti Chakra ribbon.svg	35px]] Kirti Chakra (military)
[[File:Padma Bhushan Ribbon.svg	35px]] Padma Bhushan (civilian)
lower	[[File:Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak ribbon.svg	35px]] Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak
lastawarded	2025
total_awarded	3448
website

Government of India

The Padma Shri (IAST: padma śrī, lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs". It is awarded by the Government of India every year on India's Republic Day.

History

Padma Awards were instituted in 1954 to be awarded to citizens of India in recognition of their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs. It has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were not citizens of India but did contribute in various ways to India.

The selection criteria have been criticised in some quarters with the claim that many highly deserving artists have been left out in order to favour certain individuals. India has now created an online nomination platform for the common citizens to recommend the nomination for the annually given civilian "Padma" awards.

On its obverse, the words "Padma", meaning lotus in Sanskrit, and "Shri", a Sanskrit-derived honorific equivalent to 'Mr.' or 'Ms.' (i.e., "Noble One in Blossom"), appear in Devanagari above and below a lotus flower. The geometrical pattern on either side is in burnished bronze. All embossing is in white gold.

, 3448 people have received the award. In 2025, 113 people received the Padma Shri.

Refusals

Several intended recipients, including musician Hemanta Kumar Mukherjee, sitar player Vilayat Khan, academic and author Mamoni Raisom Goswami, journalist Kanak Sen Deka and noted Bollywood screenwriter Salim Khan, have declined the Padma Shri for various reasons. Some intended recipients, such as environmental activist Sunderlal Bahuguna and English billiards champion Michael Ferreira, have refused the honour but have subsequently accepted a more prestigious one such as the Padma Bhushan or Padma Vibhushan. Other individuals, such as film-maker Aribam Syam Sharma, author Phanishwar Nath 'Renu', Punjabi author Dalip Kaur Tiwana and noted poet Jayanta Mahapatra, have returned the honour after initially accepting it.

In 2022, Bengali singer "Gitashri" Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, aged 90, turned down her offer for the Padma Shri award on the eve of the 73rd Republic Day of India. As per media reports, the veteran singer turned down the offer since she believes that her career spanning eight decades deserved a higher award than the Padma Shri. "Padma Shri is more deserving for a junior artiste", her daughter said.{{cite news|url=https://www.ndtv.com/india-news/veteran-singer-sandhya-mukherjee-refuses-padma-shri-says-more-deserving-for-junior-artiste-2730358|title=Padma Shri More Deserving For Junior Artiste

Awards by decade

List of Padma Shri award recipients (1954–1959)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (1960–1969)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (1970–1979)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (1980–1989)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (1990–1999)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (2000–2009)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (2010–2019)
List of Padma Shri award recipients (2020–2029)

Awards by field/occupation

List of Padma Shri award recipients in sports
List of Padma Shri award recipients in social work
List of Padma Shri award recipients in literature and education
List of Padma Shri award recipients in art
List of Padma Shri award recipients in civil service
List of Padma Shri award recipients in public affairs
List of Padma Shri award recipients in science and engineering
List of Padma Shri award recipients in trade and industry
List of Padma Shri award recipients in others
List of Padma Shri award recipients in medicine

References

"Padma award's schema". Ministry of Home Affairs.
"Padma's Easy Slim Zone | Vrinda Gopinath". Outlookindia.com.
(3 February 2010). "Advani backs Merchant on Padma awards selection criticism". The Times of India.
"Padma Awards Online Nomination".
(25 Jan 2025). "Padma Awards 2025".
(2011). "India Today: An Encyclopedia of Life in the Republic". ABC-CLIO.
(19 January 2003). "Artistes' angst". [[The Hindu]].
(27 January 2015). "Salim Khan declines to receive Padma Shri". The Indian Express.
(10 January 2017). "Noted activist Sunderlal Bahuguna turns 90". The Pioneer.
(28 January 2005). "Refusal question mark on awards". The Telegraph – India.
(3 February 2019). "Veteran Manipuri Filmmaker Returns Padma Shri To Protest Citizenship Bill". NDTV.
"Aura Virtual Campus".
(14 October 2015). "Punjabi writer Tiwana to return Padma Shri". [[The Tribune (Chandigarh).
(23 November 2015). "Jayanta Mahapatra returns Padma Shri protesting 'intolerance'". The Hindustan Times.

Info: Wikipedia Source

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