MUMBAI, Jan 26: India batsman Sachin Tendulkar and world chess champion Viswanathan Anand have been chosen for the nation’s second highest civilian award Padma Vibhushan, the government announced on Friday.

The government hands out civilian and military honours on Jan 26 every year, India’s Republic Day.

Tendulkar is widely regarded as one of the finest batsmen to grace world cricket while Anand regained the official world title and rose to world number one last year.

India football captain Baichung Bhutia was selected for the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, along with women’s distance swimmer Bula Chowdhury, whose achievements include twice swimming the English Channel.—Reuters