Padma Vibhushan for PA Sangma posthumously: Padma Shri awarded to Dr JN Goswami, Eli Ahmed

NEW DELHI, Jan 25 - Former Lok Sabha Speaker PA Sangma has been honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan Award, while writer-lyricist Eli Ahmed and scientist Dr Jitendra Nath Goswami have been awarded the Padma Shri. The Padma Awards, 2017 were announced here today on the eve of the Republic Day.

Laishram Birendrakumar Singh and Wareppa Naba Nil of Manipur have been awarded Padma Shri for their contribution in the field of art-music and theatre. Birkha Bahadur Limboo Muringla of Sikkim has been awarded Padma Shri for his work in literature and education.

A veteran author, Eli Ahmed had earlier won the Sahitya Akademi Bal Sahitya Puraskar for her overall contribution to children�s literature. She has authored over 1,000 articles, stories and poems, besides a good number of lyrics.

Dr Jitendra Nath Goswami was awarded for his contribution in the field of science and engineering. Dr Goswami is a renowned Indian scientist and had served as the chief scientist of Chandrayaan-1, and also was developer of this project. He served as a director of Physical Research Laboratory of Ahmadabad. Jorhat-born Goswami was also associated with Chandrayaan-2 and Mangalyaan.

The Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are given in various disciplines and fields of activities. The awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.

These awards are presented by the President of India at ceremonial functions, which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March-April every year.

This year Padma Awards went to 89 persons. The list comprises seven Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri awardees. Nineteen of the awardees are women and the list also includes five persons from the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and six posthumous awardees.