New Delhi [India], May 24 (ANI): Dr Ramchandra Godbole and Suneeta Godbole will be conferred with Padma Shri for their social work in the field of healthcare for tribal communities in Chhattisgarh and Maharashtra. Dr Godbole urged that the focus of the nation should be to tackle malnutrition among tribal people.

Expressing joy on being conferred the Padma award, Dr Ramchandra Godbole also expressed challenges in fighting malnutrition and called for everyone's participation in the social work.

He told ANI, 'There is no comparison to the joy we feel. Receiving the Padma award fills us with pride. Our focus remains on tribal children and the fight against malnutrition. This issue must be highlighted. People are not sensitive to the tribal people. Fighting malnutrition is a long and difficult battle that requires everyone's participation.'

According to the Centre, the eminent social worker duo has dedicated more than 40 years to the upliftment and healthcare of tribal communities in Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh.

They have worked in the remote Naxal-hit Bastar region of Chhattisgarh, addressing malnutrition and improving healthcare access.

They dedicated their lives to ensuring essential healthcare reaches those who otherwise have little or no access to medical facilities and promoting humanitarian tasks at the grassroots level, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.

According to a press note from the Union Home Ministry, for the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards, including two duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 19 of the awardees are women, and the list also includes six persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI and 16 posthumous awardees.

Padma Vibhushan has been conferred to actor Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous), KT Thomas, N Rajam, P Narayanan and former Keralam CM VS Achuthanandan (Posthumous). (ANI)