Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj, Mary Kom Among 141 Padma Award Recipients

Former central ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes, have been posthumously awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced on Saturday. Former Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar has been given Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award. All the four BJP stalwarts had died last year. This year's Padma Awards list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri Awards (fourth highest civilian honour), the statement said, adding 34 of the awardees are women.