New Delhi sources reported that President Ram Nath Kovind presented Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri awards at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. According to sources the ceremony, held at the majestic Durbar Hall, was attended by Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh apart from other dignitaries.
Sources reported that Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba anchored the event. Meanwhile the President, Vice President and the Prime Minister informally met the awardees and their families over tea and interacted with them briefly after the ceremony was over. Accordingly the gesture thrilled the recipients and the attendees who hankered to get their pictures clicked with the highest office bearers of the country. Moreover the youngsters looked particularly enamoured with Modi and jostled to take selfies or pictures with him as he passed by greeting them.
Further the President also gave away Padma Shri award to the first lot of
36 recipients including sportsmen Somdev Devvarman and Kidambi Shrikanth,
painter Bhajju Shyam and yoga trainer Nouf Almarwaai, a Saudi Arabi national.
Furthermore the president also conferred Padma Bhushan to the senior most
Bishop of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church; Ramachandran Nagaswamy, an
expert in Indian art; professor Ved Prakash Nanda, a John Evans Distinguished
Professor at University of Denver; and Pandit Arvind Parikh, India's one of the
top sitar players.
