The Indian Express reports: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal will also be conferred the Padma awards this Republic Day.

Advani and Badal are the only two politicians who find place in the list of 148 recipients. Actor Dilip Kumar, filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali, lyricist and ad guru Prasoon Joshi, who worked on the BJP's advertisement campaign for the Lok Sabha elections, and scriptwriter Salim Khan, father of actor Salman Khan, also figure in the list.

Sports personalities chosen for the awards are hockey team captain Sardara Singh, badminton player P V Sindhu, chess grandmaster Sasikiran Krishnan, wrestler Sushil Kumar, his coach Satpal and Arunima Sinha, the first women amputee mountaineer to climb Mount Everest.

Economist Bibek Debroy, now a member of NITI Aayog, mediapersons Rajat Sharma, Swapan Dasgupta, Hari Shankar Vyas, late actor Pran have also been nominated for the award.