Naveen’s Sister Gita Mehta Conferred With Padma Shri

New Delhi: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s sister Gita Mehta has been conferred with the Padma Shri award in the field of literature and education.

The Padma awards were announced on the eve of the Republic Day on Friday.

In all, three distinguished citizens from Odisha have been selected for Padma Shri.

They are Daitari Nayak, Devarapalli Prakash Rao and Kamala Pujahari.

Rao, who runs a tea stall in Cuttack, was recognized for his contribution in the field of social work for providing affordable education. Naik got the honours in the filed of social work and Kamala Pujari for her contribution to agriculture.

The list, released by the Home Ministry, includes 4 Padma Vibhushan, 14 Padma Bhushan and 94 Padma Shri Awards. While 21 of the awardees are women, 11 persons are from the category of foreigners, NRI (non-resident Indian), PIO (person of Indian origin), OCI (overseas citizenship of India), three posthumous awardees and one transgender person.

Padma Awards – one of the highest civilian awards of the country, are given in various fields of activities – art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service.