President Murmu approves conferment of 131 Padma Awards for year 2026
New Delhi, January 25
The President of India Droupadi Murmu has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards for the year 2026. The list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. Nineteen of the awardees are women, and 16 awards have been given Posthumously.
Continuing with the principle of celebrating ordinary Indians making extraordinary contributions, this year’s Padma Awards recognise a wide spectrum of unsung heroes from across the length and breadth of India. Late Bollywood Actor Dharmendra Singh Deol has been given the Padma Vibhushan posthumously for his remarkable contribution in the field of Art. K T Thomas from Kerala in the field of public affairs, N Rajam from Uttar Pradesh in Arts, and P Narayanan from Kerala in Literature have also been awarded the second-highest civilian award. Former Chief Minister of Kerala V S Achuthanandan has been awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously for his contribution in the field of Public Affairs.
The list of Padma Bhushan awardees includes Singer Alka Yagnik, Former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy from Tamil Nadu and Actor Mammootty from Kerala. The awardees also include Nori Dattatreyudu and Vijay Amritraj, S K M Maeilanandhan from Tamil Nadu, Shatavadhani R Ganesh, Uday Kotak, and Vellappally Natesan. Piyush Pandey, V K Malhotra and Shibu Soren have been given the Padma Bhushan posthumously.
The government has also announced to award the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award, to 113 individuals for their distinguished service in various fields, including art, social work, public affairs, medicine and sports. The list of awardees include Anke Gowda from Karnataka in Liturature and Education, Armida Fernandez from Maharashtra in Medicine, Bhagwandas Raikwar from Madhya Pradesh in Sports, Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda from Maharashtra in Arts, Brij Lal Bhat from Jammu and Kashmir for social work, Budhri Tati from Chhattisgarh for social work, Charan Hembram from Odisha in Literature and Education, Chiranji Lal Yadav from Uttar Pradesh in Arts, Dr Kumarasamy Thangaraj of Telangana in Research and Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya in Arts from Gujarat, Dr Padma Gurmet from Ladakh in Medicine, Dr Punniamurthy Natesan from Tamil Nadu for vetenary scientists, Dr Shyam Sundar from Uttar Pradesh in Medicine, Gafruddin Mewati Jogi from Rajasthan in Arts, Hally War from Meghalaya for Social Worker, Inderjit Singh Sidhu from Chandigarh for social work, K Pajanivel from Puducherry for Arts, Kailash Chandra Pant from Madhya Pradesh for Literature and Education, Khemraj Sundriyal from Haryana for Arts, Kollakkayil Devaki Amma G from Kerala for Environment and aforestation, Mahendra Kumar Mishra from Odisha for Literatrure and Education, Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai from Gujarat in Arts, Mohan Nagar from Madhya Pradesh in Environment, Naresh Chandra Dev Varma from Tripura for Literature and Education, Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala from Gujarat in Social Work, Nuruddin Ahmed of Assam in Arts, Othuvar Thiruthani Swaminathan from Tamil Nadu in Arts, Jogesh Deuri of Assam for arts, Pokhila Lekthepi from Assam in Arts, R Krishnan from Tamil Nadu, Ram Chandra Godbole and Sunita Godbole from Chhattisgarh in Medicine, Raghupat Singh from Uttar Pradesh in Agriculture, Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar from Maharastra in Arts, Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar from Tamil Nadu for Arts, Ramamurthy Sreedher of Delhi, Rama Reddy Mamidi from Telangana for Animal Husbandry and Dairy, SG Susheelamma from Karnataka in Social Work, Sangyusang S Pongener from Nagaland in Arts, Shafi Shauq from Jammu and Kashmir in Literature and Education, Shrirang Devaba Lad from Maharastra in Agriculture, Simanchal Patro from Odisha in Arts, Suresh Hanagavadi from Karnataka in Medicine, Taga Ram Bheel Rajasthan in Arts, Techi Gubin from Arunachal Pradesh in Social Work, Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam from Tamil Nadu in Arts, Vishwa Bandhu of Bihar in Arts, Yumnam Jatra Singh from Manipur in Arts, Mangala Kapoor from Uttar Pradesh, Asok Kumar Haldar from West Bengal, Gambir Singh Yonzone from West Bengal, Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay from West Bengal, Jyotish Debnath from West Bengal, Mahendra Nath Roy from West Bengal, Tripti Mukherjee from West Bengal.
Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field.