Padma Vibhushan Award to Late Bipin Rawat

• 22 Mar 2022

Why in News?

• On March 21, 2022, President Ram Nath Kovind posthumously presented the Padma Vibhushan to the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat at a civilian decoration ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. General Rawat's daughters Kirtika and Tarini received the award.

Key Points

• The President honored 54 personalities including the country's first Chief of Defense Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, former Gita Press chairman Radheshyam Khemka and senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad for the year 2022 at the Civil Endowment Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.
• Civil Endowment Ceremony-II will be organized on March 28, in which the remaining personalities will be awarded.
• It is noteworthy that General Rawat died in a helicopter crash in December last year.
• A total of 128 Padma Awards are being given this year, including two Yogya Awards (Yoga Awards are counted as single awards). The list of awardees includes four Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri. Among the awardees, 34 are women. The list includes 10 people from the foreign/NRI/PIO/OCI category.
• These awards are given in three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Awards are given for various subjects/fields, such as art, social work, public work, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service etc.
• 'Padma Vibhushan' is given for outstanding and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' is given for distinguished service of high level and 'Padma Shri' is given for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day.