The President of Bharat, Ram Nath Kovind, presented Padma Awards 202, the highest civilian awards, today, November 8, 2021, at Rashtrapati Bhawan, Delhi. A total of 119 people were honoured, out of which 7 were Padma Vibhushan awardees, 10 Padma Bhushan and 102 Padma Shri awardees. 29 of the awardees were women, 16 were Posthumous and 1 was Transgender.
Among all the recipients were Former External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, who was conferred with Padma Vibhushan. Her daughter Bansuri Swaraj attended the ceremony and accepted the award on the behalf of her late mother. Also, first woman Air Marshal Dr Padma Bandopadhyay (Retd) received Padma Shri Award.
From sports fraternity, Olympian badminton player PV Sindhu, women hockey team's Captain Rani Rampal, and others received the prestigious award.
Entertainment celebs Kangana Ranaut, Karan Johar, Adnan Sami, late singer SP Balasubramaniam and Ekta Kapoor also conferred with prestigious awards.
At the ceremony, Kangana was seen clad in a green-golden saree paired with large earrings, while Adnan Sami looked dapper in a black sherwani with golden embroidery at the neck.
Kangana lauded Karan Johar for receiving the Padma Shri Award despite being at the loggerheads. She was quoted saying, "I heartily congratulate him. I think he totally deserves this award. As a producer, the kind of films he backs, whether it is Kesari or Good Newwz, are commendable, as is the position he has worked to achieve. Even though his father gave him a head start, he has risen to the top because of his own efforts and merits.”