Every year the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting recommends the names of stars from the entertainment industry for the honour of Padma Awards bestowed by the Indian Government. And this year the shortlisted names for the Padma Awards are late super star Rajesh Khanna, filmmaker Ramesh Sippy and singer Kailash Kher.

While Rajesh Khanna has been nominated for Padma Vibhushan, the highest honour in the Padma Awards, Ramesh Sippy and Kailash Kher have been nominated for Padma Bhushan Awards. The final announcement about the recipients will be announced on January 25, 2013 whereas the awards will be bestowed a day after, that is on Republic Day.

The committee that has chosen the nominees included bigwigs namely cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, principal secretary to the P.M. Pulok Chatterjee, home secretary R.K. Singh, actor Ratna Pathak and scientist Anil Kakodkar.