The Padma awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day in a statement issued by the Union Home Ministry. A total of 107 eminent personalities were honoured with the Padma Shri, including Olympic gold medalist Neeraj Chopra.

Champions of change Awardee Singer Sonu Nigam has also been conferred with the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest civilian award in India. Mr Nandan Jha, Founder and head of Champions of Change Awards congratulated Sonu Nigam on his remarkable achievement.

We take extreme pride when #championofchangeawardee are further honored by #padmashri. They were so many in the past who won this prestigious award.this year we have #sonunigum winners of #championsofchangeaward2020, We heartily congratulate him on being a #PadmaShriAwardee2021 pic.twitter.com/rLP3anV033

— Nandan Jha (@Nandan_Jha4) January 25, 2022

Sonu Nigam is one of the most popular singers in Hindi cinema, and has also lent his voice to songs in several other languages. He has also been a celebrity judge, music director and actor. Nigam is considered one of the most popular and influential singers of India.

Nigam began singing at the age of four, when he joined his father Agam Kumar Nigam on stage to sing Mohammed Rafi’s song “Kya Hua Tera Wada". He moved to Mumbai with his father to begin his Bollywood singing career at the age of 19.He was trained by Hindustani classical singer Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan.

Champions of Change is an Indian award, for promoting Gandhian values, (Swachata), community service and social development (in Aspirational district in india), selected by constitutional jury members headed by K.G. Balakrishnan, Former Chief Justice of India and Former Chairman NHRC. It is given annually in four categories, and usually presented by the President, Vice-President, Prime Minister of India or a leading figure. Mr. Nandan Jha is the founder and head of Champions of Change Award.

The inaugural Champions of Change Award was held in 2018 and it was distributed by the Vice-President of India M.Venkaiah Naidu at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.

During the other two editions which took place in January 2020 and April 2021, the esteemed awardees included Chief Minister of Jharkhand Sh. Hemant Soren, Deputy CM of Delhi Sh. Manish Sisodia, Union Minister of State Sh. Anurag Thakur, Swami Avdheshanand Giri Ji Maharaj, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Sh. MK Stalin, Chief Minister of Goa Sh. Pramod Sawant, Legendary film actress and Politician Hema Malini and Bollywood Actress Shilpa Shetty Kundra among others.