Padma awards: Illaiyaraja, Ghulam Mustafa Khan, 41 others honoured by President Kovind
Padma awards: Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his ministerial colleagues, and several other dignitaries attended the function at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. Keeping its promise of honouring "unsung heroes", the government this year honoured with Padma awards several personalities who served the poor, set up free schools and popularised tribal arts globally. Illaiyaraja, the president of Vivekananda Kendra Kanyakumari Parameswaran, and Hindustani classical singer Ghulam Mustafa Khan were conferred the Padma Vibhusan awards
Padma awards: Among the 37 prominent personalities who were given the Padma Shri awards are Arvind Gupta, an IIT Kanpur alumnus who inspired generations of students to learn science from thrash. Image source: PTI