NEW DELHI: On the eve of India’s 77th Republic Day, the Government of India has unveiled the recipients of the prestigious Padma Awards for 2026. These civilian honors, among the highest in the nation, celebrate exceptional contributions in fields ranging from art and literature to public affairs, medicine, sports, science, social work, and beyond. President Droupadi Murmu has approved a total of 131 awards, comprising 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri. This year’s list includes two duo cases (counted as single awards), 19 women, 6 recipients from foreign countries or NRIs/OCIs/PIOs, and 16 posthumous honors, reflecting a diverse array of achievements across society.
The awards underscore India’s commitment to recognizing not only prominent figures but also unsung heroes who have made significant impacts in grassroots initiatives, such as serving marginalized communities, promoting education and healthcare, and advancing sustainability. Maharashtra leads with the highest number of recipients at 15, followed by Tamil Nadu (13), Uttar Pradesh (11), West Bengal (11), and Kerala (8). International honorees hail from countries including the United States, Germany, Russia, and Georgia, highlighting the global reach of Indian excellence. The ceremony, where the President will confer these awards, is traditionally held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in March or April.
Among the standout recipients are veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra Singh Deol, awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously for his contributions to art, and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, also posthumous, recognized under Padma Bhushan for public affairs. Cricket captain Rohit Sharma receives the Padma Shri for sports, joining other notables like Malayalam film icon Mammootty (Padma Bhushan, art) and tennis legend Vijay Amritraj (Padma Bhushan, sports). These selections emphasize a blend of cultural icons, political leaders, and sporting heroes who have inspired generations.
| Award Category | Name | Field | State |
| Padma Vibhushan | Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Vibhushan | Shri K T Thomas | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| Padma Vibhushan | Ms. N Rajam | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Vibhushan | Shri P Narayanan | Literature and Education | Kerala |
| Padma Vibhushan | Shri V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| Padma Bhushan | Ms. Alka Yagnik | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public Affairs | Uttarakhand |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Mammootty | Art | Kerala |
| Padma Bhushan | Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine | United States of America |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri S K M Maeilanandhan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Shatavadhani R Ganesh | Art | Karnataka |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Shibu Soren (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Jharkhand |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Uday Kotak | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri V K Malhotra (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Delhi |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Vellappally Natesan | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| Padma Bhushan | Shri Vijay Amritraj | Sports | United States of America |
| Padma Shri | Shri A E Muthunayagam | Science and Engineering | Kerala |
| Padma Shri | Shri Anil Kumar Rastogi | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Anke Gowda M. | Social Work | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Armida Fernandez | Medicine | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Arvind Vaidya | Art | Gujarat |
| Padma Shri | Shri Ashok Khade | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Ashok Kumar Singh | Science and Engineering | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Asok Kumar Haldar | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Baldev Singh | Sports | Punjab |
| Padma Shri | Shri Bhagwandas Raikwar | Sports | Madhya Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Bharat Singh Bharti | Art | Bihar |
| Padma Shri | Shri Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Bishwa Bandhu (Posthumous) | Art | Bihar |
| Padma Shri | Shri Brij Lal Bhat | Social Work | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Padma Shri | Shri Buddha Rashmi Mani | Others (Archaeology) | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Dr. Budhri Tati | Social Work | Chhattisgarh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Chandramouli Gaddamanugu | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Shri Charan Hembram | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| Padma Shri | Shri Chiranji Lal Yadav | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Deepika Reddy | Art | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Shri Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya | Art | Gujarat |
| Padma Shri | Shri Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Gafruddin Mewati Jogi | Art | Rajasthan |
| Padma Shri | Shri Gambir Singh Yonzone | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (Posthumous) | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Gayatri Balasubramanian & Ms. Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo) | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri Gopal Ji Trivedi | Science and Engineering | Bihar |
| Padma Shri | Shri Guduru Venkat Rao | Medicine | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Shri H V Hande | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri Hally War | Social Work | Meghalaya |
| Padma Shri | Shri Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (Posthumous) | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Haricharan Saikia | Art | Assam |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar | Sports | Punjab |
| Padma Shri | Shri Inderjit Singh Sidhu | Social Work | Chandigarh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Janardan Bapurao Bothe | Social Work | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Jogesh Deuri | Others (Agriculture) | Assam |
| Padma Shri | Shri Juzer Vasi | Science and Engineering | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Jyotish Debnath | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri K Pajanivel | Sports | Puducherry |
| Padma Shri | Shri K Ramasamy | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri K Vijay Kumar | Civil Service | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri Kabindra Purkayastha (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Assam |
| Padma Shri | Shri Kailash Chandra Pant | Literature and Education | Madhya Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Kalamandalam Vimala Menon | Art | Kerala |
| Padma Shri | Shri Kewal Krishan Thakral | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Khem Raj Sundriyal | Art | Haryana |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Kollakal Devaki Amma G | Social Work | Kerala |
| Padma Shri | Shri Krishnamurty Balasubramanian | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Shri Kumar Bose | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Kumarasamy Thangaraj | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch | Art | Germany |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova | Literature and Education | Russia |
| Padma Shri | Shri Madhavan Ranganathan | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Maganti Murali Mohan | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Mahendra Kumar Mishra | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| Padma Shri | Shri Mahendra Nath Roy | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar | Literature and Education | Delhi |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Mangala Kapoor | Literature and Education | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai | Art | Gujarat |
| Padma Shri | Shri Mohan Nagar | Social Work | Madhya Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Narayan Vyas | Others (Archaeology) | Madhya Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Naresh Chandra Dev Varma | Literature and Education | Tripura |
| Padma Shri | Shri Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala | Social Work | Gujarat |
| Padma Shri | Shri Nuruddin Ahmed | Art | Assam |
| Padma Shri | Shri Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Dr. Padma Gurmet | Medicine | Ladakh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy | Medicine | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Pokhila Lekthepi | Art | Assam |
| Padma Shri | Dr. Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Shri Prateek Sharma | Medicine | United States of America |
| Padma Shri | Shri Praveen Kumar | Sports | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Prem Lal Gautam | Science and Engineering | Himachal Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Prosenjit Chatterjee | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri R Krishnan (Posthumous) | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri R V S Mani | Civil Service | Delhi |
| Padma Shri | Shri Rabilal Tudu | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Raghupat Singh (Posthumous) | Others (Agriculture) | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri Rajendra Prasad | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Rama Reddy Mamidi (Posthumous) | Others (Animal Husbandry) | Telangana |
| Padma Shri | Shri Ramamurthy Sreedher | Others (Radio Broadcasting) | Delhi |
| Padma Shri | Shri Ramchandra Godbole & Ms. Suneeta Godbole (Duo) | Medicine | Chhattisgarh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Ratilal Borisagar | Literature and Education | Gujarat |
| Padma Shri | Shri Rohit Sharma | Sports | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Ms. S G Susheelamma | Social Work | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Shri Sangyusang S Pongener | Art | Nagaland |
| Padma Shri | Sant Niranjan Dass | Others (Spiritualism) | Punjab |
| Padma Shri | Shri Sarat Kumar Patra | Art | Odisha |
| Padma Shri | Shri Saroj Mandal | Medicine | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Satish Shah (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Shri Satyanarayan Nuwal | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Savita Punia | Sports | Haryana |
| Padma Shri | Prof. Shafi Shauq | Literature and Education | Jammu and Kashmir |
| Padma Shri | Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Shri Shrirang Devaba Lad | Others (Agriculture) | Maharashtra |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar | Science and Engineering | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Shri Shyam Sundar | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Simanchal Patro | Art | Odisha |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Sivasankari | Literature and Education | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Dr. Suresh Hanagavadi | Medicine | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Swami Brahmdev Ji Maharaj | Social Work | Rajasthan |
| Padma Shri | Shri T T Jagannathan (Posthumous) | Trade and Industry | Karnataka |
| Padma Shri | Shri Taga Ram Bheel | Art | Rajasthan |
| Padma Shri | Shri Tarun Bhattacharya | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Techi Gubin | Social Work | Arunachal Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Ms. Tripti Mukherjee | Art | West Bengal |
| Padma Shri | Shri Veezhinathan Kamakoti | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| Padma Shri | Shri Vempaty Kutumba Sastry | Literature and Education | Andhra Pradesh |
| Padma Shri | Shri Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous) | Sports | Georgia |
| Padma Shri | Shri Yumnam Jatra Singh (Posthumous) | Art | Manipur |
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