In a stark contrast to previous governments where the Padma awards were given to elites of Lutyen's Delhi, the Modi govt has been honouring unsung heroes from faraway villages of India.
Following the World Health Organization (WHO) declaration of coronavirus as pandemic, India has scaled up its responses and put in place even stricter controls
Earlier, the ceremony used to end with the Christian hymn 'Abide With Me', said to be a favourite of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, and written by a Scottish Anglican preacher named Henry Francis Lyte.