Ace Indian singer Usha Uthup was honoured by President Prathiba Singh Patil with Padma Shri at the Padma awards function in Delhi. She was honoured for her long term contribution to Indian cinema. Usha Uthup is widely known as both a  popular singer and actress in the movie industry.

The albums composed by her was also an instant hit among the audience. She was also the one to introduce western bend to south indian music. Though she faced stiff criticism for the same, she was well on her track. Other actors who received Padma Shri included Kajol Devgan,Sahabzade Irfan Ali Khan, Girish Kasaravalli, sportspersons Gagan Narang and Krishna Poonia, Tamil scholar Avvai Natarajan, legal expert Upendra Baxi etc