The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna

Bharat Ratna is the Republic of India's highest civilian award, awarded for the highest degrees of national service. This service includes artistic, literary, and scientific achievements, as well as "recognition of public service of the highest order." Unlike knights, holders of the Bharat Ratna...

 and the Padma Vibhushan

Padma Vibhushan

The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award in the Republic of India. It consists of a medal and a citation and is awarded by the President of India. It was established on 2 January 1954. It ranks behind the Bharat Ratna and comes before the Padma Bhushan...

, but comes before the Padma Shri

Padma Shri

Padma Shri is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan...

. It is awarded by the Government of India

Government of India

The Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...

.

History

The award was established on 2nd January 1954 by the President of India

President of India

The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...

. It is awarded to recognize distinguished service of a high order to the nation, in any field. As of January 2010, 1111 people have thus far received the award.

List of Awardees

• Padma Bhushan Awards (1954–1959)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (1954–1959)
  -1954:-1955:-1956:-1957:-1958:-1959:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (1960–1969)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (1960–1969)
  -1960:-1961:-1962:-1963:-1964:-1965:-1966:-1967:-1968:-1969:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (1970–1979)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (1970–1979)
  -1970:-1971:-1972:-1973:-1974:J.L Caroli||Medicine||[ uttar Pradesh]||India-1975:-1976:-1977:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (1980–1989)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (1980–1989)
  -1980:-1981:-1982:-1983:-1984:-1985:-1986:-1987:-1988:-1989:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (1990–1999)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (1990–1999)
  -1990:-1991:-1992:-1998:-1999:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (2000–2009)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (2000–2009)
  List of Awardees of Padma Bhushan Award, India's third highest civilian honour for 2000-2009:-2000:-2001:-2002:-2003:-2004:-2005:-2006:-2007:-2008:-2009:...
  
  
• Padma Bhushan Awards (2010–2019)
  Padma Bhushan Awards (2010–2019)
  This is the list of awardees of the Padma Bhushan, India's third highest civilian honour for 2010-2011.-Key:-2010:Following is the list of the recipients of the Padma Bhushan in 2010:-2011:Following s the list of the recipients of the Padma Bhushan in 2011:...