NEW DELHI: BJP leader L.K. Advani, spiritual leader and philanthropist Aga Khan, actors Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal are among the nine awarded India's second highest civilian honour, the Padma Vibhushan, Sunday.
Microsoft founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife Melinda, journalists Swapan Dasgupta and Rajat Sharma, lawyer Harish Salve, filmmaker Jahnu Barua, former chief election commissioner N.Gopalaswami, wrestler-turned-coach Satpal, and maths "Nobel Prize" winner Manjul Bhargava were among the 20 recipients of the Padma Bhushan, said a home ministry release.
The Padma Shri has been awarded to 75 people.
17 foreigners, NRIs among 104 Padma awardees:
Seventeen people from other countries, including a few of Indian origin, are among 104 people chosen for the Padma awards.
Karim Al Hussiani Aga Khan of France has been conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian award.
Manjul Bhargava, David Frawley, Bill Gates and Melinda Gates - all from the US - and Saichiro Misumi from Japan will receive the Padma Bhushan.
Jean-Claude Carriere and Jacques Blamont (France), Huang Baosheng (China), Nandrajan 'Raj' Chetty, George L. Hart, Tripti Mukherjee, Dattatreyudu Nori, Raghu Rama Pillarisetti (all from the US), Jagat Guru Amrta Suryananda Maha Raja (Portugal), Saumitra Rawat (Britain) and Annette Schmiedchen (Germany) were named for the Padma Shri, a government statement said Sunday.