Ex-VP Venkaiah Naidu to be awarded Padma Vibhushan; Padma Bhushan for Mithun Chakraborty, Foxconn's Young Liu

Former Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will be awarded Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, the Centre announced on Thursday. Bollywood actor Mithun Chakraborty, Foxconn Chairman and CEO Young Liu, and singer Usha Uthup will be given Padma Bhushan.

Besides Venkaiah Naidu, Padma Vibhushan will also be given to actors Chiranjeevi and Vyjayantimala Bali, Bindeshwar Pathak (posthumous), and Padma Subrahmanyam.

The Centre on Thursday released the names for Padma awards ahead of Republic Day. The awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. This year there are five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 110 Padma Shri awardees. Of them, 30 awardees are women.

‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service while ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.