The 2026 Padma Awards: Celebrating India’s Champions of Excellence
Every year, on the eve of Republic Day, the nation pauses to honour its most exceptional citizens through the Padma Awards. For 2026, the President of India has approved the conferment of 131 awards, recognising a diverse group of individuals who have dedicated their lives to service, innovation, and artistic mastery.
History and Significance of the Padma Awards
Instituted in 1954, the Padma Awards are among the highest civilian honours in the country. The purpose of these awards is to recognise "work of distinction" and distinguished achievements in all fields where an element of public service is involved.
While the awards are announced in January, the actual investiture ceremony is held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, usually around March or April, where the President of India presents the medals and sanads (certificates) to the recipients.
The Three Tiers of Honour
- Padma Vibhushan: Awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.
- Padma Bhushan: Awarded for distinguished service of a high order.
- Padma Shri: Awarded for distinguished service in any field.
Initially, these awards were classified as Pahela Varg (Class I), Dusra Varg (Class II), and Tisra Varg (Class III) before being renamed to their current titles in 1955. The first recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in 1954 were Satyendra Nath Bose, Nandalal Bose, Zakir Husain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, V. K. Krishna Menon, and Jigme Dorji Wangchuck.
2026 Award Highlights
The 2026 list is a testament to India's vast and varied talent pool:
- 131 Total Awards: Comprising 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri recipients.
- Diversity: The list includes 19 women and 6 individuals from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI.
- Legacy: 16 awards are being conferred posthumously, honouring the enduring impact of those who have passed.
Complete List of Padma Awardees 2026
Padma Vibhushan (5)
| SN | Recipient Name | Field of Excellence | State/Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 2 | Shri KT Thomas | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| 3 | Ms. N Rajam | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| 4 | Shri P Narayanan | Literature and Education | Kerala |
| 5 | Shri V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Kerala |
Padma Bhushan (13)
| SN | Recipient Name | Field of Excellence | State/Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Ms. Alka Yagnik | Art | Maharashtra |
| 7 | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public Affairs | Uttarakhand |
| 8 | Shri Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 9 | Shri Mammootty | Art | Kerala |
| 10 | Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine | United States of America |
| 11 | Shri Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 12 | Shri SKM Maeilanandhan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu |
| 13 | Shri Shatavadhani R Ganesh | Art | Karnataka |
| 14 | Shri Shibu Soren (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Jharkhand |
| 15 | Shri Uday Kotak | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 16 | Shri V K Malhotra (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Delhi |
| 17 | Shri Vellappally Natesan | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| 18 | Shri Vijay Amritraj | Sports | United States of America |
Padma Shri (113)
| SN | Recipient Name | Field of Excellence | State/Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | Shri A E Muthunayagam | Science and Engineering | Kerala |
| 20 | Shri Anil Kumar Rastogi | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| 21 | Shri Anke Gowda M. | Social Work | Karnataka |
| 22 | Ms. Armida Fernandez | Medicine | Maharashtra |
| 23 | Shri Arvind Vaidya | Art | Gujarat |
| 24 | Shri Ashok Khade | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 25 | Shri Ashok Kumar Singh | Science and Engineering | Uttar Pradesh |
| 26 | Shri Asok Kumar Haldar | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 27 | Shri Baldev Singh | Sports | Punjab |
| 28 | Shri Bhagwandas Raikwar | Sports | Madhya Pradesh |
| 29 | Shri Bharat Singh Bharti | Art | Bihar |
| 30 | Shri Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda | Art | Maharashtra |
| 31 | Shri Bishwa Bandhu (Posthumous) | Art | Bihar |
| 32 | Shri Brij Lal Bhat | Social Work | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 33 | Shri Buddha Rashmi Mani | Others - Archaeology | Uttar Pradesh |
| 34 | Dr. Budhri Tati | Social Work | Chhattisgarh |
| 35 | Shri Chandramouli Gaddamanugu | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 36 | Shri Charan Hembram | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| 37 | Shri Chiranji Lal Yadav | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| 38 | Ms. Deepika Reddy | Art | Telangana |
| 39 | Shri Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya | Art | Gujarat |
| 40 | Shri Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 41 | Shri Gafruddin Mewati Jogi | Art | Rajasthan |
| 42 | Shri Gambir Singh Yonzone | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 43 | Shri Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (Posthumous) | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 44 | Ms. Gayatri Balasubramanian and Ms. Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo)* | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 45 | Shri Gopal Ji Trivedi | Science and Engineering | Bihar |
| 46 | Shri Guduru Venkat Rao | Medicine | Telangana |
| 47 | Shri H V Hande | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 48 | Shri Hally War | Social Work | Meghalaya |
| 49 | Shri Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (Posthumous) | Art | West Bengal |
| 50 | Shri Haricharan Saikia | Art | Assam |
| 51 | Ms. Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar | Sports | Punjab |
| 52 | Shri Inderjit Singh Sidhu | Social Work | Chandigarh |
| 53 | Shri Janardan Bapurao Bothe | Social Work | Maharashtra |
| 54 | Shri Jogesh Deuri | Others - Agriculture | Assam |
| 55 | Shri Juzer Vasi | Science and Engineering | Maharashtra |
| 56 | Shri Jyotish Debnath | Art | West Bengal |
| 57 | Shri K Pajanivel | Sports | Puducherry |
| 58 | Shri K Ramasamy | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| 59 | Shri K Vijay Kumar | Civil Service | Tamil Nadu |
| 60 | Shri Kabindra Purkayastha (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Assam |
| 61 | Shri Kailash Chandra Pant | Literature and Education | Madhya Pradesh |
| 62 | Ms. Kalamandalam Vimala Menon | Art | Kerala |
| 63 | Shri Kewal Krishan Thakral | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 64 | Shri Khem Raj Sundriyal | Art | Haryana |
| 65 | Ms. Kollakal Devaki Amma G | Social Work | Kerala |
| 66 | Shri Krishnamurty Balasubramanian | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 67 | Shri Kumar Bose | Art | West Bengal |
| 68 | Shri Kumarasamy Thangaraj | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 69 | Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch | Art | Germany |
| 70 | Ms. Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova | Literature and Education | Russia |
| 71 | Shri Madhavan Ranganathan | Art | Maharashtra |
| 72 | Shri Maganti Murali Mohan | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 73 | Shri Mahendra Kumar Mishra | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| 74 | Shri Mahendra Nath Roy | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 75 | Shri Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar | Literature and Education | Delhi |
| 76 | Ms. Mangala Kapoor | Literature and Education | Uttar Pradesh |
| 77 | Shri Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai | Art | Gujarat |
| 78 | Shri Mohan Nagar | Social Work | Madhya Pradesh |
| 79 | Shri Narayan Vyas | Others - Archaeology | Madhya Pradesh |
| 80 | Shri Naresh Chandra Dev Varma | Literature and Education | Tripura |
| 81 | Shri Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala | Social Work | Gujarat |
| 82 | Shri Nuruddin Ahmed | Art | Assam |
| 83 | Shri Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 84 | Dr. Padma Gurmet | Medicine | Ladakh |
| 85 | Shri Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy | Medicine | Telangana |
| 86 | Ms. Pokhila Lekthepi | Art | Assam |
| 87 | Dr. Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| 88 | Shri Prateek Sharma | Medicine | United States of America |
| 89 | Shri Praveen Kumar | Sports | Uttar Pradesh |
| 90 | Shri Prem Lal Gautam | Science and Engineering | Himachal Pradesh |
| 91 | Shri Prosenjit Chatterjee | Art | West Bengal |
| 92 | Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 93 | Shri R Krishnan (Posthumous) | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 94 | Shri RVS Mani | Civil Service | Delhi |
| 95 | Shri Rabilal Tudu | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 96 | Shri Raghupat Singh (Posthumous) | Others - Agriculture | Uttar Pradesh |
| 97 | Shri Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar | Art | Maharashtra |
| 98 | Shri Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 99 | Shri Rajendra Prasad | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 100 | Shri Rama Reddy Mamidi (Posthumous) | Others - Animal Husbandry | Telangana |
| 101 | Shri Ramamurthy Sreedher | Others - Radio Broadcasting | Delhi |
| 102 | Shri Ramchandra Godbole and Ms. Suneeta Godbole (Duo)* | Medicine | Chhattisgarh |
| 103 | Shri Ratilal Borisagar | Literature and Education | Gujarat |
| 104 | Shri Rohit Sharma | Sports | Maharashtra |
| 105 | Ms. S G Susheelamma | Social Work | Karnataka |
| 106 | Shri Sangyusang S Pongener | Art | Nagaland |
| 107 | Sant Niranjan Dass | Others - Spiritualism | Punjab |
| 108 | Shri Sarat Kumar Patra | Art | Odisha |
| 109 | Shri Saroj Mandal | Medicine | West Bengal |
| 110 | Shri Satish Shah (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 111 | Shri Satyanarayan Nuwal | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 112 | Ms. Savita Punia | Sports | Haryana |
| 113 | Prof. Shafi Shauq | Literature and Education | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 114 | Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| 115 | Shri Shrirang Devaba Lad | Others - Agriculture | Maharashtra |
| 116 | Ms. Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar | Science and Engineering | Karnataka |
| 117 | Shri Shyam Sundar | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 118 | Shri Simanchal Patro | Art | Odisha |
| 119 | Ms. Sivasankari | Literature and Education | Tamil Nadu |
| 120 | Dr. Suresh Hanagavadi | Medicine | Karnataka |
| 121 | Swami Brahmdev Ji Maharaj | Social Work | Rajasthan |
| 122 | Shri TT Jagannathan (Posthumous) | Trade and Industry | Karnataka |
| 123 | Shri Taga Ram Bheel | Art | Rajasthan |
| 124 | Shri Tarun Bhattacharya | Art | West Bengal |
| 125 | Shri Techi Gubin | Social Work | Arunachal Pradesh |
| 126 | Shri Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 127 | Ms. Tripti Mukherjee | Art | West Bengal |
| 128 | Shri Veezhinathan Kamakoti | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| 129 | Shri Vempaty Kutumba Sastry | Literature and Education | Andhra Pradesh |
| 130 | Shri Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous) | Sports | Georgia |
| 131 | Shri Yumnam Jatra Singh (Posthumous) | Art | Manipur |
*Note: In a duo case, the Award is counted as one.
Official document,Click here to read.
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