The Ministry of Home Affairs on January 25 announced the Padma Awards list for 2026, with President Droupadi Murmu approving 131 civilian honours across three categories. The announcement, made on the eve of Republic Day, signals the government’s recognition of lifetime contributions across arts, public affairs, sports, medicine and industry.
The awards will be formally conferred by the President at Rashtrapati Bhavan later this year, usually in March or April.
1. How many awards were approved this year
A total of 131 Padma Awards have been cleared for 2026, including two duo cases counted as single awards.
The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards, according to the MHA press note.
2. What each Padma category recognises
The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service.
The Padma Bhushan recognises distinguished service of a high order.
The Padma Shri is conferred for distinguished service in any field.
3. Fields represented in the 2026 list
Awardees span art, social work, public affairs, medicine, science and engineering, literature and education, sports, trade and industry, and civil services.
The spread underlines the Padma framework’s emphasis on long-term public impact rather than single achievements.
4. Padma Vibhushan awardees (5)
Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) – Art
K T Thomas – Public Affairs
N Rajam – Art
P Narayanan – Literature & Education
V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) – Public Affairs
5. Padma Bhushan awardees (13)
Alka Yagnik – Art
Bhagat Singh Koshyari – Public Affairs
Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy – Medicine
Mammootty – Art
Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu – Medicine
Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) – Art
S K M Maeilanandhan – Social Work
Shatavadhani R Ganesh – Art
Shibu Soren (Posthumous) – Public Affairs
Uday Kotak – Trade & Industry
V K Malhotra (Posthumous) – Public Affairs
Vellappally Natesan – Public Affairs
Vijay Amritraj – Sports
6. Padma Shri awardees (113)
The Padma Shri list features 113 recipients across states and sectors, including several grassroots contributors often described by the government as 'unsung heroes'.
Notable names include Prosenjit Chatterjee, Satish Shah (Posthumous), Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, Rohit Sharma, Savita Punia and Shashi Shekhar Vempati, alongside doctors, educators, folk artists, social workers and community leaders.
A E Muthunayagam
Anil Kumar Rastogi
Anke Gowda M.
Armida Fernandez
Arvind Vaidya
Ashok Khade
Ashok Kumar Singh
Asok Kumar Haldar
Baldev Singh
Bhagwandas Raikwar
Bharat Singh Bharti
Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda
Bishwa Bandhu (Posthumous)
Brij Lal Bhat
Buddha Rashmi Mani
Dr. Budhri Tati
Chandramouli Gaddamanugu
Charan Hembram
Chiranji Lal Yadav
Deepika Reddy
Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya
Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad
Gafruddin Mewati Jogi
Gambir Singh Yonzone
Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (Posthumous)
Gayatri Balasubramanian & Ms. Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo)
Gopal Ji Trivedi
Guduru Venkat Rao
H V Hande
Hally War
Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (Posthumous)
Haricharan Saikia
Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar
Inderjit Singh Sidhu
Janardan Bapurao Bothe
Jogesh Deuri
Juzer Vasi
Jyotish Debnath
K Pajanivel
K Ramasamy
K Vijay Kumar
Kabindra Purkayastha (Posthumous)
Kailash Chandra Pant
Kalamandalam Vimala Menon
Kewal Krishan Thakral
Khem Raj Sundriyal
Kollakal Devaki Amma G
Krishnamurty Balasubramanian
Kumar Bose
Kumarasamy Thangaraj
Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch
Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova
Madhavan Ranganathan
Maganti Murali Mohan
Mahendra Kumar Mishra
Mahendra Nath Roy
Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar
Mangala Kapoor
Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai
Mohan Nagar
Narayan Vyas
Naresh Chandra Dev Varma
Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala
Nuruddin Ahmed
Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan
Dr. Padma Gurmet
Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy
Pokhila Lekthepi
Dr. Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore
Prateek Sharma
Praveen Kumar
Prem Lal Gautam
Prosenjit Chatterjee
Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan
R Krishnan (Posthumous)
R V S Mani
Rabilal Tudu
Raghupat Singh (Posthumous)
Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar
Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar
Rajendra Prasad
Rama Reddy Mamidi (Posthumous)
Ramamurthy Sreedher
Ramchandra Godbole & Ms. Suneeta Godbole (Duo)
Ratilal Borisagar
Rohit Sharma
S G Susheelamma
Sangyusang S Pongener
Sant Niranjan Dass
Sarat Kumar Patra
Saroj Mandal
Satish Shah (Posthumous)
Satyanarayan Nuwal
Savita Punia
Prof. Shafi Shauq
Shashi Shekhar Vempati
Shrirang Devaba Lad
Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar
Shyam Sundar
Simanchal Patro
Sivasankari
Dr. Suresh Hanagavadi
Swami Brahmdev Ji Maharaj
T T Jagannathan (Posthumous)
Taga Ram Bheel
Tarun Bhattacharya
Techi Gubin
Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam
Tripti Mukherjee
Veezhinathan Kamakoti
Vempaty Kutumba Sastry
Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous)
Yumnam Jatra Singh (Posthumous)
7. Women awardees this year
Nineteen women feature among the 2026 awardees, reflecting a gradual increase in recognition of women’s contributions across professional and social sectors.
8. Foreign nationals and overseas Indians
Six recipients fall under the category of foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and OCIs, highlighting India’s outreach to global contributors in culture, academics and public life.
9. Posthumous recognitions
Sixteen Padma Awards will be conferred posthumously this year, continuing the practice of recognising lifetime service even after a recipient’s death.
What awardees receive and what they don’t
The Padma Awards carry no cash prize. Recipients receive a certificate signed by the President of India and a medallion, along with a miniature replica for ceremonial use.
The honours do not confer any title and cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to a recipient’s name.
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