Union Minister Ram Naik: Six eminent personalities from Maharashtra have bagged the country's third highest civilian honour, the Padma Bhushan, and the state also bagged another six Padma Shris, the nation's fourth highest civilian decoration, announced on the occasion of Republic Day 2024.
Among the awardees, there are two each from the media and arts, three from medicine, and the remaining in other categories.
The Padma Bhushan laureates are: Gujarati journalist Hormusji N. Cama (Journalism, Literature), Dr. Ashwin B. Mehta (Medicine), ex-Governor and former Union Minister Ram Naik (Public Affairs), Dattatray A. Maloo (Art), veteran music director Pyarelal Sharma (Art) of the duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal, and Gujarati journalist Kundan Vyas (Journalism, Literature).
The Padma Shri honors have gone to: Uday V. Deshpande (Sports), Dr. Manohar K. Dole (Medicine), Zahir I. Kazi (Literature, Education), Dr. Chandrashekhar M. Meshram (Medicine), Kalpana Morparia (Trade, Industry) and Shankar Baba Pundlikrao Papalkar (Social Work).
A total of 132 awards have been announced, including two duo winners, comprising 5 Padma Vibhushans, 17 Padma Bhushans and 110 Padma Shris.