NEW DELHI: Noting that four people from France, the highest for any foreign country, have received the Padma awards this year, official sources said this underscores the strength of India-France relations.

The Padma awards were announced on Thursday, the day French President Emmanuel Macron arrived in India to be the chief guest at the Republic Day parade.

Those from France who received the honour include 100-year-old yoga exponent Charlotte Chopin and Kiran Vyas (79), a global yoga and Ayurveda practitioner.

The other two are Pierre Sylvain Filliozat (87), a Sanskrit scholar dedicated to advancing Indian culture studies and Fred Negrit, an Indologist fostering great awareness and appreciation of Indian culture, according to government citations.

All four of them have been bestowed with the Padma Shri.