CDS General Bipin Rawat conferred Padma Vibhushan posthumously

Hyderabad: India's first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Bipin Rawat, who was killed when an IAF helicopter crashed near Coonoor in the Nilgiris district of Tamil Nadu in December 2021 has been conferred with Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award posthumously.

CDS Bipin Rawat was en route to give a lecture at Defence Service Staff College in Wellington when his helicopter crashed and all the 14 people on board including him died after the crash.

Along with late CDS Rawat former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Kalyan Singh, who died last year, will receive Padma Vibhushan posthumously for Public Affairs. Former Chairman Gita Press late Radheyshyam Khemka has also been conferred Padma Vibhushan posthumously and renowned classical vocalist Dr. Prabha Atre of the Kirana Gharana also conferred awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 25 shared a list with the names of personalities who will be conferred with the Padma Awards this year. As many as 128 personalities from different fields will be honoured with the Padma Awards.

The list comprises four Padma Vibhushan awardees, 17 Padma Bhushan awardees, and 107 Padma Shri awardees. Out of 128 awardees, 34 are women and the list also includes 10 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 13 posthumous awardees.

Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.