Microsoft's Bill Gates and wife Melinda among others selected for Padma awards

NEW DELHI: Microsoft founder Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates were on January 25 chosen for Padma Bhushan award this year under the social work category.
In the trade and industry discipline, Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan, whose domicile is FranceUK, has been selected for the Padma Vibhushan award, the country's second highest civilian honour.

Former Infosys board member TV Mohandas Pai and Indian American economist Nandrajan Raj Chetty have been selected for Padma Shri under trade and industry discipline.

Ashok Gulati, former chairman of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), also gets Padma Shri in the public affairs category.

LK Advani, Amitabh Bachchan, thespian Dilip Kumar and Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal were chosen for this year's Padma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour.

Eminent lawyer KK Venugopal, D Veerendra Heggade of the famous Dharmasthala Jain temple in Karnataka, eminent nuclear scientist MR Srinivasan and Aga Khan were also chosen for PadmaVibhushan.

Former Lok Sabha secretary general Subhash C Kashyap, journalists Rajat Sharma and Swapan Dasgupta, lawyer Harish Salve, Indian-American mathematician Manjul Bhargava were also in the list of Padma Bhushan awardees.

Hindu religious leader Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya (Padma Vibhushan), Swami Satyamitranand Giri (Padma Bhushan), both from Uttar Pradesh, Shivakumara Swami of Karnataka (Padma Bhushan) and Jagat Guru Amrita Suryananda Maha Raja of Portugal (Padma Shri) and former NCERT Director JS Rajput (Padma Shri) also figure in today's list.