New Delhi: President Draupadi Murmu honoured veteran Socialist leader and former Uttar Pradesh chief minister Late Mulayam Singh Yadav and Medical Professional Dilip Mahalanabis known globally for his work on ORS were conferred with Padma Vibhushan Award on Wednesday.

Mulayam Singh Yadav is India’s former Defence Minister and long-time Parliamentarian, and Mahalanabis, who returned from the US to serve in the 1971 Bangladesh war refugee camps, was given the honour posthumously. Yadav’s son, former Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, received the award on his behalf, while Mahalanabis’ award was received by his nephew.

She honoured a total of 53 awardees on Wednesday i.e., three Padma Vibhushan, five Padma Bhushan and 45 Padma Shri. Author and philanthropist Sudha Murty, Physicist Deepak Dhar, who is known for his long-standing research career in statistical physics, Novelist S L Bhyrappa and Vedic Scholar Tridandi Chinna Jeeyar Swamiji were given the Padma Bhushan at a function held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Music director M M Keeravaani, and Bollywood actor Raveena Tandon were among those who received the Padma Shri. Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP president J P Nadda and several Union ministers and other guests were present at the function.