Bhubaneswar, Jan 16 (IANS): The Odisha government on Thursday declared to pay an honorarium of Rs 30,000 to the recipients of different Padma Awards from the state. The enhanced honorarium will be provided to the Padma awardees from January this year.

The Odia Language, Literature and Culture Department of Odisha issued a notification in this regard on Thursday.

“Keeping in view the outstanding contributions of the Padma awardees of the state towards the society in various fields, the state government has decided to provide an honorarium of Rs 30,000 per month to them,” reads the notification of the State Culture Department.

The department further added that all the Padma awardees of the state will now receive a monthly honorarium of Rs 30,000 through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) from January 2025.

The department has also directed the district Collectors and District Cultural Officers across the state to send the details of the living Padma Awardees of their respective districts at the earliest.

The previous Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government in March 2024 has announced to provide an honorarium of Rs 25,000 every month to the notable sons of the land who have been conferred with Padma awards, one of the highest civilian honours of India.

Notably, the Padma Awards are given to eminent personalities for their distinguished services to the nation in three categories, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri every year.

As per available information, as many as 106 persons from Odisha have so far received Padma Awards under various categories for their contributions in the fields of Arts, Literature, Education, Social Work, Medical science, engineering etc. since its inception in 1954. These eminent persons of the state who have received different Padma awards have brought glory to Odisha through their talent and service.