Akshata Murty, UK's First Lady, Sits With S Jaishankar As Mother Sudha Receives Padma Award

Sudha Murty's husband and Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, son Rohan, and her sister Sunanda Kulkarni also attended the Padma Award ceremony in Delhi.

New Delhi: Akshata Murty, the wife of British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, was in attendance when her mother Sudha Murty was given the Padma Bhushan award in Delhi on Wednesday. Akshata was seen sitting with Union Ministers S Jaishankar and Anurag Thakur in the front row, along with other dignitaries at the majestic Durbar Hall of the Rashtrapati Bhavan during the Padma award ceremony.

Sudha Murty's husband and Infosys co-founder NR Narayana Murthy, son Rohan Murty, and her sister Dr Sunanda Kulkarni also attended the ceremony. 

President Droupadi Murmu presents Padma Bhushan to Smt Sudha Murty for Social Work. A philanthropist, renowned author and Chairperson of Murty Foundation, she has initiated many projects in the fields of healthcare, education, art & culture, animal welfare and women's empowerment pic.twitter.com/qQJeEjnKfY — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 5, 2023

Sudha Murty receives the Padma Bhushan from President Draupadi Murmu pic.twitter.com/tKw0RB9r9B — ANI (@ANI) April 5, 2023

U.K Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's wife Akshata Murty was present today at Rastrapati Bhavan at the Padma Awards Ceremony. Her Mother Smt Sudha Murthy was conferred with Padma Bushan Award...@RishiSunak pic.twitter.com/YY4PGDIybS — Adarsh Hegde (@adarshahgd) April 5, 2023

Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several other Union ministers were present at the function.

Earlier in February, Akshata, her daughters and her parents were spotted holidaying in Goa. 

More visuals of UK Prime Minister #RishiSunak's wife #AkshataMurthy with parents Narayan Murthy and Sudha Murthy and family members holidaying in Goa. pic.twitter.com/2Ux7mC4Vd6 — IANS (@ians_india) February 16, 2023

They were spotted at the Benaulim beach in south Goa, which is about 40 km from the state capital Panaji.

Rishi Sunak married Akshata Murty in 2009

Rishi Sunak, who is Britain's first Indian-origin Prime Minister, and Akshata Murty married in Bangalore in 2009.

They have two daughters -- Anoushka and Krishna.

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A post shared by Rishi Sunak (@rishisunakmp)

They met while Sunak was studying at Stanford University.

Mulayam Singh Yadav, Oscar-awardee Keeravaani conferred Padma awards

President Droupadi Murmu presented three Padma Vibhushan, five Padma Bhushan and 47 Padma Shri Awards for the year 2023 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on Wednesday. 

Veteran socialist leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Late Mulayam Singh Yadav, and medical professional Dilip Mahalanabis, known globally for his work on Oral Rehydration Solution (ORS), were among those conferred the Padma Vibhushan award.

Physicist Deepak Dhar, who is known for his long-standing research career in statistical physics, novelist SL Bhyrappa, noted playback singer Vani Jairam and Vedic scholar Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji were also given the Padma Bhushan at the Rashtrapati Bhavan function.

Yadav, who was also India's defence minister and long-time parliamentarian, Mahalanabis, who returned from the US to serve in the 1971 Bangladesh war refugee camps, and Jairam were given the honour posthumously.

President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar and Prime Minister Narendra Modi with the Padma Awardees at Rashtrapati Bhavan today. pic.twitter.com/cBqNehBI2N — President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) April 5, 2023

Music director M M Keeravaani, who recently bagged India's first Oscar for an original song for the 'RRR' song 'Naatu Naatu', and Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon were among those who received the Padma Shri.

Types of Padma awards

Padma awards are conferred in three categories -- Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. 

The awards are given in various disciplines and fields of activities such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service among others.

Padma Vibhushan, the country's second-highest civilian award, is given for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order; and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field.

Many of the awardees are unsung heroes who have been silently working for the betterment of society and people, and whom the Narendra Modi government has been honouring ever since it came to power in 2014.