Padma awardees visit National War Memorial

The Padma awardees felt that a visit to the National War Memorial will help in inculcating the values of patriotism, devotion to duty, courage and sacrifice and instill the feeling of nationalism.

NEW DELHI: The 54 Padma awardees who were honoured at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I on Monday visited the National War Memorial on Tuesday to pay homage to the soldiers.

The Padma awardees’ visit to the National War Memorial in New Delhi was an initiative undertaken by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (PTI)

The visit was an initiative undertaken by the government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“The awardees appreciated the initiative of the government to organise the visit and its efforts to popularise the memorial as a place for people and children to visit in the national capital. The awardees felt that a visit to the memorial will help in inculcating the values of patriotism, devotion to duty, courage and sacrifice and instill the feeling of nationalism,” the ministry of Home Affairs said in a press release.

The ministry further said that the Padma awardees who received the awards on Monday “reflect the changing profiles of the awardees”, which is the result of a conscious decision taken by the Narendra Modi-led government in an attempt to transform the entire process. The emphasis of the government is to recognise people who are contributing selflessly to society, it added.

The ministry added that this year they received over 4.8 lakh nominations and this record number was because of the use of technology and the introduction of online nominations, which made the process simple and accessible to people.

“The self-nomination, online nomination, selection of a large number of unsung heroes and transparent selection process has transformed the Padma Awards into the ‘People’s Padma’,” the ministry added.

President Ram Nath Kovind conferred two Padma Vibhushan, eight Padma Bhushan and 54 Padma Shri Awards for the year 2022, at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I. Among the Padma Bhushan awardees were senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and Serum Institute of India chairman Cyrus Poonawalla in the field of public affairs and trade and industry, respectively.

To celebrate the achievement of the awardees, the union minister of home affairs and cooperation Amit Shah interacted with the awardees and their families at the programme in New Delhi, after the investiture ceremony. The interaction was followed by a dinner, hosted by the union home minister in honour of the Padma Awardees.