New Delhi:
The Central Government has announced the Padma Awards for 2025. Of the personalities selected for the Padma Award, seven will be awarded the Padma Vibhushan, 19 will be awarded the Padma Bhushan and 113 will be awarded the Padma Shri. Retired Justices Jagadish Singh Khehar, Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia, Lakshminarayan Subramaniam and Duvvur Nageswara Reddy will be awarded Padma Vibhushan. Folk singer Sharda Sinha, former Suzuki Motor CEO Osamu Suzuki and MT Vasudevan Nair will be posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan.
Padma Vibhushan is given for exceptional and distinguished service. Padma Bhushan is given for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri is given for distinguished service in any field.
Padma Vibhushan awardee Dr. Duvvur Nageswara Reddy is from Telangana. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar is from Chandigarh, Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia is from Gujarat, Lakshminarayan Subramaniam is from Karnataka. MT Vasudevan Nair was a resident of Kerala. Osamu Suzuki was from Japan. Sharda Sinha was a resident of Bihar.
Dr Duvvur Nageswara Reddy
Dr. Duvvur Nageswara Reddy will be honored with Padma Vibhushan for his special contribution in the field of medicine. Dr. Reddy is a gastroenterologist who studied at Kurnool Medical College. He is the President and Founder of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology (AIG), Hyderabad. This is the world’s largest gastroenterology hospital. Dr. Reddy was honored with the Padma Shri Award in 2002 and the Padma Bhushan Award in 2016. He was given the world’s highest gastroenterology award in Shanghai, China in September 2013. He was awarded the Rudolf V. Schindler Prize.
After the announcement of the award, Dr Reddy said, “I feel very humbled and honored to receive the Padma Vibhushan. This honor truly belongs to all of my patients, my entire team at AIG Hospitals, and the countless healthcare workers who inspire me every day. This is not just an individual achievement, but a celebration of the spirit of Indian medicine and the immense potential of our great nation in healthcare innovation.
Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar
Former Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Jagdish Singh Khehar is being given the Padma Vibhushan Award in the field of public work. Justice Khehar has been the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court from January 4, 2017 to August 27, 2017. He was appointed judge of the Supreme Court on 13 September 2011. He had earlier been the Chief Justice of Karnataka High Court from 8 August 2010 to 12 September 2011. Before this, he was the Chief Justice of Uttarakhand High Court from 29 November 2009 to 7 August 2010. Justice Jagdish Singh Khehar was the first Sikh Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.
Justice Khehar was born on 28 August 1952 in Nairobi, Kenya. He obtained Indian citizenship in 1965. He studied at the Government Law College, Chandigarh in 1974 before joining law school at Panjab University. Justice Khehar started his career as a lawyer in 1979. In 1992, he was appointed Additional Advocate General of Punjab. During his six-year tenure in the Supreme Court, Justice Khehar wrote a total of 176 judgments. He was most active in 2014, when he delivered 34 judgments and was part of 63 benches.
Kumudini Rajinikanth Lakhia
Gujarat’s Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia will be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of arts. Kumudini Lakhia was born on 17 May 1930. Kumudini, resident of Ahmedabad, is a Kathak dancer and choreographer. He founded the Kadamba School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music, in 1967. He is a leading artist in contemporary Kathak dance. He is also credited with transforming Kathak from a solo dance form into a group dance in the 1960s. He also made innovations such as adding contemporary stories to Kathak performances.
Kumudini Lakhia started taking Kathak lessons from Sohanlal of Bikaner Gharana at the age of seven. After this, he took Kathak lessons from Aashiq Hussain of Banaras Gharana and Sunder Prasad of Jaipur School. His mother Leela was a classical singer. He completed his schooling in Lahore and college in Allahabad.
Lakshminarayan Subramaniam
Renowned violinist Lakshminarayan Subramaniam will be awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of arts. Lakshminarayan Subramaniam of Karnataka was born on 23 July 1947. He is a violinist, composer and music conductor. He is an expert in Carnatic classical music and Western classical music.
Subramaniam is famous for the use of fusion in music. There is a tradition of music creation in his family. He started taking music training at a very young age under the guidance of his father. He lived in Jaffna during his childhood days. At the age of just 6, he presented his first public concert. He composed musical compositions for plays, orchestras and films. He has established Lakshminarayan Global Music Festival.
MT Vasudevan Nair
MT Vasudevan Nair, i.e. Madath Thekkepattu Vasudevan Nair, will be posthumously honored with Padma Vibhushan in the field of literature and education. MT Vasudev Nair, a resident of Kerala, was a famous writer of Malayalam language. He was a novelist, short story writer, screenwriter and film director. Vasudevan Nair was born on 15 July 1933 in Cuddalore. He died on 25 December 2024 at the age of 91.
He was given the Jnanpith Award. He was awarded the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1970 for his novel Kaalam. His primary education was at Kumaranallur School. He was a prolific and versatile writer of modern Malayalam literature. He was one of the masters of Indian literature after independence.
Osamu Suzuki
Osamu Suzuki of Japan will be posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of business and industry. Osamu Suzuki was born on January 30, 1930 and died on December 25, 2024 at the age of 64. Osamu was a Japanese businessman and chairman of Suzuki Motor Corporation. He was the President and CEO of this company since 1978.
Osamu graduated from Chuo University in 1953. He started his career as a loan officer in a local bank. He married Shoko Suzuki, granddaughter of Suzuki Motor Corporation patriarch Michiyo Suzuki, in the late 1950s. Since the Suzuki family had no male heir, Osamu adopted the Suzuki family name in accordance with Japanese custom and became Osamu Suzuki.
Sharda Sinha
Renowned folk singer Sharda Sinha will be posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan in the field of arts. Sharda Sinha was born on 1 October 1952. He died on 5 November 2024. She was a popular singer of Bihar. Apart from Maithili and Bhojpuri, he also sang Hindi songs. He also sang for many films. In Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern UP, songs sung by Sharda Sinha are often heard in Durga Puja, marriage ceremonies and other musical ceremonies.
Sharda Sinha was born in Hulas village of Supaul district of Bihar. Her father was Sukhdev Thakur and she was the only sister of eight brothers. Their marriage took place in Sihama village of Begusarai district. He started his career with Maithili folk singing.
