Dogri folk singer Romalo Ram expressed gratitude to the central government for honouring him with the Padma Shri Award in the field of art.

“I am grateful to the government. The previous government used to ignore Dogri folk art. For the past 40 years, I have been associated with this art. We have preserved our heritage and worked with renowned people,” he said on Saturday.
He further said that he was very thankful to the government for honouring ‘Maa Boli Dogri’.
“This is not only my achievement but also that of my friends who used to sing with me. We have preserved the heritage of Dogri folk music,” he added.

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There are 132 names on the list of Padma Awardees this year, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the award is counted as one), as per the list below. The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan, and 110 Padma Shri Awards.
Thirty of the awardees are women, and the list also includes eight persons from the categories of foreign non-resident Indian (NRI), person of Indian origin (PIO), overseas citizenship of India (OCI), and nine posthumous awardees.

The Padma Awards, which were instituted in 1954, are one of the highest civilian honours of India and are announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
The awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order), and Padma Shri (distinguished service).

The award seeks to recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
The Padma Awards are conferred on recommendations by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year.
The Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary and includes the Home Secretary, the Secretary to the President and four to six eminent persons as members. The recommendations of the committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.

Last year, the government announced 106 Padma Awards, including three duo cases. The list then comprised six Padma Vibhushans, nine Padma Bhushan, and 91 Padma Shri Awards.
Nineteen of the awardees were women, and the list also included two persons from the category of foreigners: NRI, PIO, OCI, and seven posthumous awardees.