Controvesy and the Padma awards have gone together for many years, we have done little to stem the erosion of prestige of India’s premier civilian honours. I have long advocated an overhaul in the selection process, left to a secretive committee of officers whose vote decides 80 per cent of the final list. The remaining names are added based on ministerial or other recommendations and apparently, there are no background checks at least of those selected solely on recommendations. Cases of a Kashmiri shawl exporter winning a Padma Shri, or Olympic medalist Vijendra Singh losing out are then a natural consequence. While the numbers of Padma awardees have gone up substantially over the years, those who win these awards because of influential recommendations have little merit to show. It seems every Delhi-based doctor who has a VVIP patient ends up receiving a Padma award. On the other hand, some of the deserving candidates fail to receive the award because they do not understand the intricacies of networking with bureaucrats and ministers. Today, even the awardees seldom feel proud of earning it. In my opinion, no more than 30 Padma Shris, 10 Padma Bhushans and 5 Padma Vibhushans should be conferred in any year. The PM can transparently nominate members of Padma awards selection committee, whose nominations would be forwarded to a group of ministers. A second alternative is to vest in the presidential secretariat with the complete powers to confer these awards. The secretariat has enough staff and time throughout the year to take nominations from various ministries and state governments, and then vet these nominations before preparing the final list and sending it to PMO for approval. This will enhance transparency.

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