New Delhi

Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer, the publisher of prominent Tamil daily Dinamalar, was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award by President Droupadi Murmu on Monday in recognition of his distinguished contributions to literature, education and journalism.

The nonagenarian presently serves as joint managing editor of the widely circulated newspaper.

In a ceremony at the Ganatantra Mandap, erstwhile Darbar Hall, in the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Murmu conferred the award on him. The ceremony was attended by Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Lakshmipathy has been a familiar face in the Indian media circle for more than half a century, donning several roles as a leading publisher, marketer, journalist, educationist and policy advisor to governments.

He held several positions in press-related institutions such as chairman of the Press Trust of India (1998-99, 2006-07 and 2012-13), president of the Indian Newspaper Society (1992-93), member of the Press Council of India (2001-04, 2011-14) and president of the Indian Language Newspapers Association (2001-03).

An alumnus of the Travancore University in Kerala, he later pursued advanced studies in newspaper management at the University of Cardiff in the United Kingdom.

This qualification proved instrumental in steering a range of publications, including The Antiseptic, an annual journal of medicine and surgery; Health, a monthly journal devoted to healthy living; and Sagar Sandesh, a voice of the Indian shipping and maritime industry.

Lakshmipathy was conferred DLitt (honoris causa) in recognition of his achievements by the Alagappa University in 2003 and later by the Bharathiar University in 2009.

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He has travelled across the length and breadth of the country and had numerous interactions with doyens of industry and reaped rich dividends, helped place the newspaper Dinamalar in a comfortable position, where there was no need to depend on government advertisements.

He is also the founder of the Subbalakshmi Lakshmipathy Foundation and has established several educational institutions Subbalakshmi Lakshmipathy College of Science, RL Institute of Management Studies, RL Institute of Nautical Sciences, and the Krishnamal Ramasubbaiyer School, all located in and around Madurai.