Of the 11 eminent personalities from Karnataka who got the prestigious Padma awards, only three were shortlisted from a list of names the Siddaramaiah government had sent to a high-level screening committee.
Hindustani classical singer Venkatesh Kumar, ophthalmologist M M Joshi and Madhu Pandit Dasa from Iskcon were picked from a list of 30 names sent by the State to the awards screening committee, which identified others from Karnataka taking into consideration their contribution to various fields.
Though selecting names from the list sent by a state is not mandatory for the panel, the Central government this time was very selective in identifying personalities for the top award.
A high-level panel headed by the Union Home secretary shortlists the names. The panel, which also has members comprising officials and well-known personalities from different fields, sends the shortlisted names to the intelligence agency for vetting, following which it is sent to the prime minister for his view. After taking the prime minister’s opinion, the same is sent to President of India for final approval.
The Karnataka government had recommended two names for Padma Vibhushan, nine for Padma Bhushan and 19 for Padma Shri awards.
DH News Service