NEW DELHI, Jan 25 - Noted surgeon and population expert Dr Ilias Ali and Science and Engineering-Grassroots Innovator, Uddhab Kumar Bharali, both from Assam, have been awarded with Padma Shri.
Dr Ilias Ali, who is also the chairman of North East Population Foundation is a reputed surgeon credited with conducting �vasectomy� on 3 lakh male individuals.
Known for his innovation, Uddhab Bharali first designed his own machine for making polythene covers catering to tea estates in Assam
Bharali�s innovations focused on solving issues in and around Lakhimpur district with special focus on agriculture and small-scale industries. Bharali went on to build a variety of peeler machines to peel beteel nut, garlic, jatropha. He also re-designed Assamese paddy grinder, that could be operated by only turning a wheel Bamoo Processing Machine to cut-polish-surface finish long bamboos besides cutters for and Green tea leaves.
Meanwhile Thanga Darlong of Tripura was awarded Padma Shri in the field of Art-Music-Flute.
Draupadi Ghimiray of Sikkim was awarded Padma Shri for his Social Work-Divyang Welfare Sikkim.
Noted sports person Bombayla Devi Laishram of Manipur was awarded for her performance in the field of Sports-Archery.
This year the 112 Padma Awards will be conferred including one duo case (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards. 21 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 11 persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, three Posthumous awardees and one transgender person.