Government’s recognition of his work made the award special. “I’m very happy, it’s difficult to explain in words. In 18 years, I have received several awards but this one is close to my heart. I’m happy that the Government has acknowledged my contribution,” Tendulkar said after receiving the award. Mukherjee who was awarded the Padma Vibhushan became the first serving minister to be conferred a Padma award. Among the awardees were Swimmer Bula Chowdhury Chakraborty who received the Padma Shri. Hotelier P R S Oberoi was also conferred the Padma Vibhushan. Shyamalan was conferred the Padma Sri and said the Indian Government’s gesture was a very humbling experience for him and had given him an opportunity to foster his relationship with Indian audiences. Author Dominique Lapierre, Delhi-based teacher Shyama Chona and classical musician Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar received the Padma Bhushan while FICCI secretary general Amit Mitra and journalists Vinod Dua and Rajdeep Sardesai were presented with the Padma Shri. Molecular biologist Asis Dutta, former Ambassador Chandrashekhar Dasgupta, social activist Devendra Raj Mehta and renowned neurophysician Jagjit Singh Chopra were some of the other recipients of the Padma Bhushan.

Other awardees included Arjunan Rajasekaran, B Shivanthi Adityan, Bhavarlal Hiralal Jain, Bina Agrawal, Deepak Sehgal, John Martin Nelson, Prof M Leelavathy, Mangala Prasad Mohanty and Raman Kapur. Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Surendra Singh Yadav, Srinivas Adgata, Randhir Sud, Yusuf Ali MA, Simon Tony Fernandes and Pandit Pratap Pawar were among the other recipients.