The Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards. As of 2024, the award has been bestowed on 336 individuals, including thirty-one posthumous and twenty-one non-citizen recipients.
The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order...without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex." The award criteria include "service in any field including service rendered by Government servants" including doctors and scientists, but exclude those working with the public sector undertakings. As of 2020, the award has been bestowed on 1270 individuals, including twenty-four posthumous and ninety-seven non-citizen recipients.
The Padma Shri, also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the arts, education, industry, literature, science, acting, medicine, social service and public affairs". It is awarded by the Government of India every year on India's Republic Day.
Pandit Ajoy Chakrabarty is an Hindustani classical vocalist, composer, lyricist and an exponent of the Patiala-Kasur gharana. He was given Padma Bhushan Award, the third highest civilian award in India in 2020.
K. M. Cherian, in full Kotturathu Mammen Cherian, is an Indian heart surgeon. He performed India's first coronary artery bypass surgery and first heart Lung transplant. and is considered a pioneer of pediatric cardiac surgery in the country. He is also a former honorary surgeon to the President of India and a Padma Shri awardee.
Ayyagari Sambasiva Rao (1914–2003) was an Indian scientist and founder of Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL), Hyderabad, Telangana, India.
Saichiro Misumi was a Japanese indologist, former executive director and the incumbent advisor of the Japan-India Association. He is a World War II veteran, a former Indian National Army officer and an associate of Subhash Chandra Bose, renowned Indian nationalist. Narendra Modi, the Indian Prime Minister, visited him on 2 September 2014 during the former's official visit to Japan and the meeting was widely covered in Indian media. The Ministry of External Affairs, India have drawn up a project to record Misumi's life and times by way of a documentary film, for which they have invited expression of interest. He was honoured by the Government of India in 2015 with the Padma Bhushan, the third highest Indian civilian award for his contributions towards promoting India-Japan relations.
Inderjit Kaur Barthakur is an Indian civil servant, economist and writer. She is a member of the North Eastern Council (NEC), which carries the rank of a Minister of State of the Union government. She has published several books of poetry, stories and cuisine and So Full So Alive and Stories to Win the World are some of her notable works. She served as a secretary to the Government of India and was the president of the Indian Economics Association in 1990.
Nori Gopala Krishna Murti was an Indian civil engineer, known for his contributions for the implementation of Koyna Hydroelectric Project. He was the chairman of Bhakra Dam Management Board and the vice-chairman of the International Congress on Large Dams. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, in 1963. He received the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, in 1972.
Padma Bhushan 
