The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26January) and registered in The Gazette of Indiaa publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The name of a recipient, whose award has been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register. , none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during the 2010s have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Varg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion in diameter and thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards.
, a total of 218 individuals have been conferred with the award in 2010s forty-three conferments were presented in 2010, followed by thirty-one in 2011, twenty-eight in 2012, twenty-three in 2013, twenty-four in 2014, twenty in 2015, nineteen in 2016, seven in 2017, nine in 2018, and fourteen in 2019. Since 2010, the Padma Bhushan have been conferred upon thirty foreign recipients twenty from the United States, three from the United Kingdom, and one each from Bangladesh, Germany, Ireland, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, and Thailand. Individuals from ten different fields were awarded, which includes sixty artists, thirty-five from literature and education, twenty-four from science and engineering, twenty-one from trade and industry, eighteen from medicine, fifteen civil servants, seventeen from public affairs, ten sportspersons, eight from social work, and eleven from other fields. Most recently on 25 January 2019, the award has been bestowed upon fourteen recipients.
Overview
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Recipients
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+ List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (2010–2019) Year Image Laureates Field State / country 2010 Medicine Delhi 2010 Literature and Education Delhi 2010 Public Affairs Jharkhand 2010 * Trade and Industry 2010 Literature and Education Rajasthan 2010 Literature and Education Delhi 2010 Civil Service Delhi 2010 * Public Affairs 2010 Literature and Education Delhi 2010 * Literature and Education 2010 Arts Gujarat 2010 Civil Service Maharashtra 2010 Arts Karnataka 2010 Medicine Karnataka 2010 Arts Tamil Nadu 2010 Science and Engineering Delhi 2010 Arts Maharashtra 2010 Arts Maharashtra 2010 Arts Maharashtra 2010 Arts Delhi 2010 Arts Gujarat 2010 Arts Kerala 2010 Arts Uttar Pradesh 2010 Medicine Kerala 2010 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2010 Trade and Industry Punjab 2010 Arts Maharashtra 2010 Medicine Maharashtra 2010 Social Work Maharashtra 2010 * Science and Engineering 2010 Arts Tamil Nadu 2010 Civil Service Delhi 2010 Arts Gujarat 2010 Arts Andhra Pradesh 2010 Public Affairs Delhi 2010 Literature and Education Delhi 2010 Medicine Delhi 2010 Trade and Industry Delhi 2010 Science and Engineering West Bengal 2010 Social Work Karnataka 2010 Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu 2010 Medicine Kerala 2010 # Literature and Education 2011 Arts Andhra Pradesh 2011 Social Work Maharashtra 2011 Civil Service Madhya Pradesh 2011 Arts Tamil Nadu 2011 Trade and Industry Delhi 2011 Trade and Industry West Bengal 2011 Arts Maharashtra 2011 Literature and Education Karnataka 2011 Literature and Education West Bengal 2011 Trade & Industry Karnataka 2011 # Medicine Maharashtra 2011 Arts Maharashtra 2011 Arts Haryana 2011 Arts Maharashtra 2011 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2011 Arts West Bengal 2011 Arts Kerala 2011 Literature and Education Karnataka 2011 # Arts Gujarat 2011 Trade and Industry Haryana 2011 Science and Engineering Tamil Nadu 2011 Social Work Maharashtra 2011 Trade and Industry Andhra Pradesh 2011 Trade and Industry Andhra Pradesh 2011 Arts Maharashtra 2011 Civil Service Delhi 2011 Trade and Industry Delhi 2011 Arts Delhi 2011 Civil Service Delhi 2011 Arts Karnataka 2011 # Medicine Kerala 2012 Medicine Maharashtra 2012 Arts Maharashtra 2012 * Literature and Education 2012 Science and Engineering Maharashtra 2012 Arts West Bengal 2012 Arts Delhi 2012 * Literature and Education 2012 Arts Maharashtra 2012 Social Work Maharashtra 2012 Arts Tamil Nadu 2012 Arts Tamil Nadu 2012 Arts West Bengal 2012 * Arts 2012 * Arts 2012 Literature and Education Maharashtra 2012 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2012 Arts Delhi 2012 * Literature and Education 2012 * Literature and Education 2012 Civil Service Uttar Pradesh 2012 Science and Engineering Maharashtra 2012 * Public Affairs 2012 Civil Service West Bengal 2012 Medicine Karnataka 2012 Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu 2012 Civil Service Kerala 2012 Medicine Maharashtra 2012 * Public Affairs 2013 * Science and Engineering 2013 Civil Service Delhi 2013 # Arts Punjab 2013 Sports Karnataka 2013 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2013 Arts West Bengal 2013 # Arts Maharashtra 2013 Sports Manipur 2013 Medicine Maharashtra 2013 Literature and Education Maharashtra 2013 Civil Service Madhya Pradesh 2013 * Science and Engineering 2013 Public Affairs Maharashtra 2013 Science and Engineering Delhi 2013 Arts Andhra Pradesh 2013 Arts Maharashtra 2013 Science and Engineering Delhi 2013 Science and Engineering Uttar Pradesh 2013 Literature and Education 2013 Science and Engineering Karnataka 2013 Arts Delhi 2013 Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu 2013 Arts Delhi 2014 * Literature and Education 2014 Literature and Education Delhi 2014 Science and Engineering Karnataka 2014 Public Affairs Delhi 2014 Literature and Education Uttarakhand 2014 Literature and Education Delhi 2014 Sports Andhra Pradesh 2014 Arts Tamil Nadu 2014 Science and Engineering Maharashtra 2014 Civil Service Delhi 2014 Medicine Delhi 2014 Science and Engineering Karnataka 2014 Sports Maharashtra 2014 Science and Engineering Karnataka 2014 # Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh 2014 Science and Engineering Delhi 2014 * Literature and Education 2014 * Literature and Education 2014 Science and Engineering Delhi 2014 Arts Gujarat 2014 Arts Maharashtra 2014 Literature and Education Gujarat 2014 Literature and Education Tamil Nadu 2014 Arts Tamil Nadu 2015 Arts Assam 2015 * Science and Engineering 2015 Science and Engineering Maharashtra 2015 Literature and Education Delhi 2015 * Literature and Education 2015 * Social Work 2015 * Social Work 2015 Others Uttar Pradesh 2015 Civil Service Tamil Nadu 2015 Public Affairs Delhi 2015 Arts Madhya Pradesh 2015 * Public Affairs 2015 Medicine Delhi 2015 Arts Tamil Nadu 2015 Public Affairs Delhi 2015 Medicine Delhi 2015 Literature and Education Delhi 2015 Sports Delhi 2015 Others Karnataka 2015 Science and Engineering Karnataka 2016 Public Affairs Uttar Pradesh 2016 * Public Affairs 2016 Others Maharashtra 2016 Trade and Industry Delhi 2016 Arts Manipur 2016 Arts Maharashtra 2016 Sports Telangana 2016 * Trade and Industry 2016 Arts Maharashtra 2016 Sports Haryana 2016 Literature and Education Andhra Pradesh 2016 Civil Service Kerala 2016 Literature and Education Maharashtra 2016 Science and Engineering Andhra Pradesh 2016 Medicine Telangana 2016 # Others Uttarakhand 2016 Literature and Education Punjab 2016 Arts Uttar Pradesh 2016 Others Maharashtra 2017 Arts Rajasthan 2017 Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 2017 Others Gujarat 2017 Others Bihar 2017 # Literature and Education Tamil Nadu 2017 * Literature and Education 2017 Medicine Maharashtra 2018 Sports Karnataka 2018 Others Kerala 2018 Sports Jharkhand 2018 # Public Affairs 2018 Others Tamil Nadu 2018 * Literature and Education 2018 Arts Goa 2018 Arts Maharashtra 2018 Arts Bihar 2019 * Trade and Industry 2019 Public Affairs Punjab 2019 * Public Affairs 2019 Trade and Industry Delhi 2019 Social Work Haryana 2019 Medicine Maharashtra 2019 Public Affairs Jharkhand 2019 Arts West Bengal 2019 Arts Kerala 2019 Science and Engineering Kerala 2019 # Literature and Education Delhi 2019 Sports Uttarakhand 2019 Civil Service Delhi 2019 Public Affairs Bihar
Controversies and refusals
The 2010 conferment on an Indian-American businessman Sant Singh Chatwal created much controversy. Awarded in the field of Public Affairs, Chatwal is known for his association with former US President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton and pled guilty to violating the Federal Election Campaign Act and witness tampering during the United States presidential election. He was also accused of lobbying for the award by leveraging his contacts in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) and United States Congress. The Government of India, however, issued a press release defending the conferment. The statement mentioned Chatwal as a "tireless advocate" of the country's interest in the United States. It also clarified that out of five Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered cases against him between 1992 and 1994, three were closed by CBI itself and in remaining two cases, Chatwal was discharged by the Court and as per the reports that were made available to the selection committee, there was "nothing adverse on record against him". According to media reports, there were several cases filed or registered after April 2009 which includes three criminal complaints with Kerala Police and four cases in Delhi High Court and Kerala High Court. Chatwal also served summons in January 2010. However, the then Union Home Secretary Gopal Krishna Pillai said that "no probe has been ordered nor any report sought from anyone".