New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu conferred Padma awards to former Karnataka chief minister SM Krishna, noted industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla and famous playback singer Suman Kalyanpur among others at a ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday.

This year Padma awards were given to extraordinary citizens from every corner of the country. More than 50 winners represented 40 districts in the prestigious award list. However, what makes this year's Padma awards unique is that six of these districts had never featured in the awards list earlier.

Among these six districts, two of them Anakapalle and Kakinada are from Andhra Pradesh, while four others are Umaria from Madhya Pradesh, Ratnagiri from Maharashtra, Khowai from Tripura and Chikkaballapur from Karnataka.

According to officials, this year's theme of the Padma award was to recognise and honour those who have dedicated their lives in a particular field. President Murmu has approved the conferment of 106 Padma awards on the eve of this year's Republic Day.

Of these, over 50 people were awarded Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri on Wednesday.

LIVE: President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Awards 2023 at Civil Investiture Ceremony-I at Rashtrapati Bhavan https://t.co/jtEQQtx1DP
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