Guwahati (Assam) [India], January 27 (ANI): Assam's sculptor and art director Nuruddin Ahmed, who has been conferred with the Padma Shri 2026 in the field of art, on Monday expressed gratitude to the people of Assam and described the honour as a turning point in his life.

Speaking to ANI, Ahmed said he was deeply thankful for the recognition and credited the people of the state for their support. 'I am grateful for this award and I thank the Assam residents for this. I come from a small village, and I am honoured to be receiving this,' he said.

Calling the award a milestone, Ahmed added, 'This is a turning point in my life, and it will inspire my actions in the future.'

The Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian award of the country and is given for distinguished service in various fields.

Meanwhile, President Droupadi Murmu on Sunday approved the conferment of 131 Padma awards, including two duo cases counted as single awards, and Bollywood actor Dharmendra Singh Deol and former Kerala Chief Minister VS Achuthanandan as recipients of the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards, recognising distinguished service across a wide range of fields.

The Padma Vibhushan awardees include Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous) for Art from Maharashtra; former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas for Public Affairs from Kerala; violin maestro N Rajam for Art from Uttar Pradesh; eminent Malyalam journalist P Narayanan for Literature and Education from Kerala; as well as veteran left leader and former Kerala CM Achuthanandan (posthumous) for Public Affairs.

Recipients of the Padma Bhushan include celebrated female playback singer Alka Yagnik (Art, Maharashtra), Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari (Public Affairs, Uttarakhand), distinguist gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy (Medicine, Tamil Nadu), legendary Malayali actor Mammootty (Art, Kerala), Dr Nori Dattatreyaudu (Medicine, United States of America), Piyush Pandey (posthumous) (Art, Maharashtra), S K M Maeilananndhan (Social Work, Tamil Nadu), Shatavadhani R Ganesh (Art, Karnataka), former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren (posthumous) (Public Affairs, Jharkhand), Uday Kotak (Trade and Industry, Maharashtra), veteral politician V K Malhotra (posthumous) (Public Affairs, Delhi), Vellappally Natesan (Public Affairs, Kerala) and Vijay Amritraj (Sports, United States of America).

Among the awardees, 19 are women, while six belong to the categories of foreign nationals, Non-Resident Indians (NRIs), Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs). Sixteen awards have been announced posthumously.

Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian Awards of the country are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities like art, social work, public affairs, science, andengineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service.

'Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order, and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field.

These awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually around March and April each year.

The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year. They are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April. (ANI)