New Delhi, March 21 : Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister of the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir Ghulam Nabi Azad was conferred with the Padma Bhushan award at the Rashtrapati Bhavan on Monday The veteran leader was awarded for his work in public affairs by President Ram Nath Kovind. Meanwhile, Late Gen Bipin Rawat, India’s first Chief of Defense Staff and former army chief, was conferred with Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the first civil investiture ceremony. Rawat’s award in the field of civil services was received by his daughters Kritika and Tarini. Many other prominent figures were awarded for exemplary work in their respective fields. Para Javelin thrower who won silver at Tokyo Paralympics Devendra Jhajharia and India’s first female Paralympic gold medallist para-shooter Avani Lekhara received the Padma Bhushan award in the field of sports. Indian women’s hockey stalwart Vanadan Kataria received Padma in the ceremony. She became the first Indian woman to score a hat-trick in hockey at the Olympics in Tokyo. Other prominent awardees include Indian film director Chandraprakash Dwivedi n Cinema, Serum Institute of India’s MD Cyrus Poonawalla in the field of Trade & Industry, and Sachidanand Swami for his work in Literature and Education. The Padma awards are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma and given in various disciplines such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. This year, a total of 128 Padma Awards are being conferred in a two-part ceremony. The second ceremony is scheduled for March 28. ‘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. ASH SY 1913