Padma Awards 2024 | 24 Apr 2024

Source: TH

Why in News?

Recently, President Droupadi Murmu presented the prestigious Padma Awards of 2024 to a distinguished group of people.

Who were the Recipients of the Padma Awards in 2024?

  • The group included former Vice-President M. Venkaiah Naidu, actor and politician Mithun Chakraborty, singer Usha Uthup, and tennis player Rohan Bopanna and others.
  • The founder of Sulabh International Bindeshwar Pathak and Bharatanatyam dancer Padma Subrahmanyam were conferred with Padma Vibhushan.
  • For 2024, the President had approved the conferment of 132 Padma awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one).
    • The list comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 110 Padma Shri Awards.
    • 30 of the awardees are women, 8 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 9 Posthumous awardees.

What are the Key Points About the Padma Awards?

  • Background:
    • The Padma Awards are announced annually on Republic Day (26th January).
    • Instituted in 1954, it is one of the highest civilian honours of India.
  • Objective:
    • To recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
  • Categories:
    • The Awards are given in three categories:
      • Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service),
      • Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and
      • Padma Shri (distinguished service).
    • Padma Vibhushan is highest in the hierarchy of Padma Awards followed by Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
  • Disciplines:
    • The awards are given in various disciplines/ fields of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.
  • Eligibility:
    • All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these Awards.
  • Selection Process:
    • Padma Awards Committee:
      • The Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
    • Awarded by President:
      • The awards are presented by the President of India usually in March/April every year.

Bharat Ratna

  • It is the highest civilian award in the country. It is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.
  • It is treated on a different footing from the Padma Award. The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the Prime Minister to the President of India.
  • Usually, three Bharat Ratna awards are given in a year. However, this year in 2024, the government has named five people for Bharat Ratna.

Abolition of Titles Under Article 18 of the Constitution:

  • Article 18(1) of the Indian Constitution abolishes all titles and prohibits the state from conferring titles on any individual, whether they are a citizen or a non-citizen.
    • However, military and academic distinctions are exceptions to this prohibition.
    • This means that universities, for instance, can grant titles or honours to individuals based on their merit.
  • A "title" refers to an attachment to one's name, such as a prefix or suffix (e.g., Sir, Nawab, Maharaja).
    • In a democracy, the creation of titles and titular glories is discouraged as it goes against the principles of social equality.
  • Awards like "Bharat Ratna," "Padma Vibhushan," and "Padma Shri" are not prohibited under Article 18 because they signify state recognition of exceptional work by citizens in various fields.
    • In the landmark judgment Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India, 1996, the court held that National awards aren’t titles under clause 1 of Article 18.

Note:

  • In the case of Indira Jaising v. Supreme Court of India, 2017, a complaint was lodged to question the usage of the term ‘senior advocate’ before the names of the advocates.
    • The Supreme Court ruled that this is not the title, but rather a demarcation, and therefore does not violate Article 18 of the Indian Constitution.

Read more: Republic Day

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs)

Prelims:

Q. Consider the following statements in respect of Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards: (2021)

  1. Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards are titles under the Article 18(1) of the Constitution of India.
  2. Padma Awards, which were instituted in the year 1954, were suspended only once.
  3. The number of Bharat Ratna Awards is restricted to a maximum of five in a particular year.

Which of the above statements are not correct?

(a) 1 and 2 only 
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only 
(d) 1, 2 and 3

Ans: (d)