Padma Shri (also Padmashree) 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.

It is awarded to citizens of India to recognize their distinguished contribution in various spheres of activity including the Arts, Education, Industry, Literature, Science, Sports, Medicine, Social Service and Public Affairs. However it has also been awarded to some distinguished individuals who were not citizens of India and who did contribute in various ways to India.

The selection criteria, however, has been heavily criticized as many highly deserving artists have been left out in order to favor certain individuals.^{[citation needed]}

On its obverse, the words "Padma", meaning lotus in Sanskrit and "Shri", in Devanagari, appear above and below a lotus flower. The geometrical pattern on either side is in burnished bronze. All embossing is in white gold.

As of 2012^[update], 2497 people have received the award.

Ram Sampath is a composer, producer and musician, working mainly in the Mumbai advertising circuit. He has also helped promote local bands and talent.

Aruna Sairam (also spelt Sayeeram, Tamil: அருணா சாய்ராம்) is an eminent Carnatic music vocalist.

Aruna Sairam received vocal training from her mother Rajalakshmi Sethuraman, who was a disciple of the Alathur Brothers and Thanjavoor Sankara Iyer. She later received training from prominent vocalists, Madurai Somasundaram and T. Brinda. She also learnt the art of pallavi singing from T. R. Subramaniam,

Aruna Sairam collaborated with many Indian artists apart from internationally acclaimed artistes, like Dominique Vellard, the French Gregorian singer.

Aruna Sairam has presented her concerts in all major sabhas in India, as well as many destinations across the world, including Carnegie Hall in New York, Le Théâtre de la Ville in Paris and the Festival of World Sacred Music in Morocco.

Sona Mohapatra (Oriya: ସୋନା ମହାପାତ୍ର) is an Indian singer and lyricist. born in Cuttack, Orissa. Well known in India, she has performed in concerts across the world and has been featured in albums, singles, concert webcasts, music videos, Bollywood films and advertisements. In addition to her own material, Mohapatra has recorded remixes of songs by David Bowie, with "Let's Dance", and INXS, with "Afterglow", with the latter proving particularly successful.

Her first ventures in music industry started with jingles & remixes. One of her famous jingle was for Tata Salt - Kal Ka Bharat Hai.In 2007, she released her debut album, Sona, on Sony Records, which sought to explore the diverse styles of rock, rhythm and blues, Flamenco, Hindustani, Baul and Romani music. In 2009, she released the single Diljale. She recently sung a song 'Bedardi Raja' in the movie Delhi Belly for Aamir Khan Production's and did a cameo in it. She has also sung a theme song "Mujhe Kya Bechega Rupaiya" for the TV show Satyamev Jayate.

Aishwarya Rai, known also as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan after her marriage (Tulu pronunciation [əjɕʋərjaː rəj]; born 1 November 1973) is an Indian film actress. She worked as a model before starting her acting career, and ultimately won the Miss World pageant in 1994. Rai has featured in films in various languages including Hindi, English, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali.

Often cited by the media as the "most beautiful woman in the world", Rai made her acting debut with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar (1997), and had her first commercial success in Jeans (1998). She found success in Bollywood with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002) and eventually won two Filmfare Awards in the Best Actress category.

After a series of unsuccessful films during 2003–2005, she appeared in the blockbuster action thriller Dhoom 2 (2006) and subsequently featured in such films as Guru (2007), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and Enthiran (2010). She gained critical acclaim for her performances in offbeat, independent films such as Chokher Bali (2003), Raincoat (2004), and Provoked (2007). Rai has thus established herself as one of the leading contemporary actresses of Indian cinema.