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.
Sudha Ragunathan is an Indian Carnatic vocalist, singer and composer. She was conferred the Kalaimamani award by the Government of Tamil Nadu in 1994, Padma Shri (2004) and Padma Bhushan (2015) by the Government of India, and Sangeetha Kalanidhi by Madras Music Academy in 2013.
Mahesh Verma is an Indian prosthodontist and the former Director and Principal of Maulana Azad Institute of Dental Sciences. Currently, he is the Vice Chancellor of Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University. The Government of India awarded him, in 2014, with the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, for his contributions to the fields of medicine,
Ashwin Balachand Mehta is an Indian cardiologist and one of the pioneers of interventional cardiology in India. He is the director of Cardiology department at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai and also serves Breach Candy Hospital, as a consultant. He is reported to have performed the first Cardiac catheterization and Angiography in newborn babies in India, in 1973, the year when he introduced Bundle Electrography in the country. He is also credited with the performance or supervision of over 35,000+ angioplasties and over 75,000+ angiographies.
Anil Kohli is an Indian dental surgeon, medical administrator and a former president of the Dental Council of India. He is an elected fellow of the Faculty of Dental Surgery of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and holds the honorary rank of 'Brigadier' in the Army Dental Corps. He is a recipient of B. C. Roy Award, the highest Indian award in the medical category. The Government of India awarded him the fourth highest civilian honor of the Padma Shri in 1992 and followed it up with the third highest civilian honour of the Padma Bhushan, in 2005, for his contributions to medicine, making him the first dentist to receive both the honors.
Dr. Rafiuddin Ahmed was an Indian dentist, educator and later minister in the West Bengal cabinet, who founded the first dental college of India, Dr. R. Ahmed Dental College and Hospital, later named 'The Calcutta Dental College', where he remained its principal until 1950. He established the Indian Dental Journal in 1925, and played a key role in founding the Bengal Dentist Act in 1939. In 1946, he established The Bengal Dental Association which was then renamed as the Indian Dental Association. The Government of India awarded him the Padma Bhushan in 1964.Remembered as the father of modern dentistry in India, in 2016, the Indian Dental Association declared 24 December as National Dentist's Day in his honour.
Padma Bhushan 
