Actor Waheeda Rehman and political and economic commentator S. Gurumurthy are on the 19-member panel to select the Padma award winners this year.
The civilian awards of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri are announced on the eve of Republic Day.
Nearly 150 persons will get the awards this year. A senior government official said that a lot of “unsung heroes” would be on the list.
This is the first time the Home Ministry has invited nominations online. An official said they had received many representations for people from across the country and abroad.
As reported by The Hindu , the government has recommended the name of Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, for a posthumous Padma Vibhushan, the highest in the Padma category and the second highest civilian award in the country.
A total of 112 persons were given the awards in 2016. Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, media entrepreneur Ramoji Rao, spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravi Shankar and founder of Reliance Industries Dhirubhai Ambani (posthumously) were among the 10 who got Padma Vibhushan.
