Odisha Government Announces Monthly Honorarium for Padma Awardees

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government on Wednesday announced a monthly honorarium of Rs 25,000 to the recipients of Padma awards. The payments will be made from April this year as a mark of recognition of their contribution to the society.

“The Padma Awards are the country's proudest civilian honour. This honor is given to individuals who have made the country proud in various fields. Padma awardees have enhanced the glory of Odisha with their talent and service,” the state government said in a press statement.

While a lot of people in Odisha have already received Padma awards earlier, four persons received Padma Shri in 2024. They are Gopinath Swain, Bhagbat Padhan, Binod Maharana, and Binod Kumar Pasayat.

Gopinath Swain is a 105-year-old artist from Ganjam district, who has been performing Krishna Leela for over nine decades.

Similarly, Bhagabat Padhan is an exponent of Sabda Nrutya folk dance from Bargarh. He was chosen for the prestigious award for 'expanding the scope of Sabda Nrutya dance to wider platforms and imparting training to diverse groups in the art’.

The Padma Shri, also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan.