Pics & Videos: President Kovind confers Padma Awards to Prabhu Deva, Mohanlal & others at Rashtrapati Bhawan

Fifty-six of the 112 "inspiring" personalities, who were selected for this year's Padma awards, conferred the prestigious honour on Monday by President Ram Nath Kovind at a special function in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Among those receiving the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri on Monday are late actor Kader Khan, Akali Dal leader Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa and renowned journalist late Kuldip Nayar. Khan (posthumous) honoured with Padma Shri, Dhindsa and Nayar (posthumous) honoured with Padma Bhushan. Noted theatre personality from Maharashtra Babasaheb Purandare alias Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (Padma Vibhushan), Bihar leader Hukumdev Narayan Yadav (Padma Bhushan), former CEO of multinational techno giant Cisco systems John Chambers, renowned dancer and filmmaker Prabhu Deva (Padma Shri) also honoured.

#WATCH President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Shri award upon director and actor Prabhu Deva for the field of Art - Dance. #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/3wMttMuxIx

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Shri award upon director and actor Prabhu Deva for the field of Art - Dance. #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/ot5g9w3d8p

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

The Padma awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day and the remaining awardees are likely to be conferred the honour at another function to be held on March 16.

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Bhushan award upon actor Mohanlal. #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/CFZejeale6

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

This year's awardees are from across the nation, all segments of society and the government has gone beyond excellence alone, recognising larger impact and their selfless service, the official said. The nomination process for Padma awards was made online in 2016 and a simple, accessible and secure online platform was put in place to encourage citizens at large to participate.

Delhi: Indian percussionist Anandan Sivamani conferred with Padma Shri award by President Ram Nath Kovind. #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/ZNwHtlvfq2

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

Erstwhile 'Government Awards' transformed into 'Peoples Awards', another official said. A record 50,000 nominations were received for the 2019 awards, which is 20 times those received in 2014, when there were just 2,200 nominations. The technological intervention has made the nomination process accessible to the people at large and the emphasis of the government to confer Padma awards on unsung heroes, who are doing selfless service for the nation, have resulted into the above transformation, the official said. This is reflected in the awardees selected with an eclectic list, covering diverse fields. An inspiration to all as the stories of their struggles, dedication, perseverance, selflessness and service script the story of 'New India' and the government has transformed the Padma awards into a 'People's Awards' in the true sense, the official said. PTI Here are the other recipients:

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Shri award upon Kabaddi team's captain Ajay Thakur. #PadmaAwards pic.twitter.com/XI3We7wUHE

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

Delhi: President Ram Nath Kovind confers Padma Bhushan award (posthumous) upon veteran journalist Kuldip Nayar. His wife Bharti Nayar received the award. pic.twitter.com/NPuToZeXXk

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

Actor Mohanlal after receiving Padma Bhushan award: It's a great honour. It's a great achievement as an individual, as an actor. It's my 41st year in the movie industry. So I'm giving all the credits to my colleagues, my family & those who supported me in this beautiful journey. pic.twitter.com/FGtdH40aWq

— ANI (@ANI) March 11, 2019

This year's recipients of the #PadmaAwards include director and actor Prabhu Deva, percussionist Anandan Sivamani and more. https://t.co/tscoSM0yLy

— Twitter Moments India (@MomentsIndia) March 11, 2019

(With inputs added in PTI copy)