Padma Awards 2026: Celebrating Excellence Across India
On the eve of Republic Day 2026, the Government of India has unveiled the prestigious Padma Awards, honouring 131 individuals for their exceptional contributions to society. This annual announcement, made by the President of India, recognizes achievements in diverse fields such as art, sports, science, and public affairs, reinforcing the nation's commitment to celebrating distinguished service.
Overview of the 2026 Padma Awards
This year, the Padma Awards comprise 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards. The Padma Vibhushan is conferred for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards span disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, sports, and civil service, highlighting the breadth of talent across India.
Notable Winners and Posthumous Honours
Among the recipients, veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra Singh Deol was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the art category, while former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandhan received the same honour posthumously for public affairs. In sports, cricketer Rohit Sharma was honoured with the Padma Shri, recognizing his outstanding contributions to Indian cricket.
Other prominent winners include:
- Mammootty for art from Kerala
- Uday Kotak for trade and industry from Maharashtra
- Vijay Amritraj for sports from the United States of America
- Alka Yagnik for art from Maharashtra
State-wise Distribution of Awards
Maharashtra leads with the highest number of awardees at 15, followed closely by Tamil Nadu with 13 winners. Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal each have 11 recipients, while Kerala accounts for 8 awardees. This distribution reflects the widespread recognition of talent from various regions of India.
Full List of Padma Awards 2026 Winners
Below is the comprehensive list of all 131 Padma award winners for 2026, showcasing the diverse fields and states represented:
- Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri K T Thomas - Public Affairs, Kerala
- Ms. N Rajam - Art, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri P Narayanan - Literature and Education, Kerala
- Shri V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) - Public Affairs, Kerala
- Ms. Alka Yagnik - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari - Public Affairs, Uttarakhand
- Shri Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy - Medicine, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Mammootty - Art, Kerala
- Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu - Medicine, United States of America
- Shri Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri S K M Maeilanandhan - Social Work, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Shatavadhani R Ganesh - Art, Karnataka
- Shri Shibu Soren (Posthumous) - Public Affairs, Jharkhand
- Shri Uday Kotak - Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
- Shri V K Malhotra (Posthumous) - Public Affairs, Delhi
- Shri Vellappally Natesan - Public Affairs, Kerala
- Shri Vijay Amritraj - Sports, United States of America
- Shri A E Muthunayagam - Science and Engineering, Kerala
- Shri Anil Kumar Rastogi - Art, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Anke Gowda M. - Social Work, Karnataka
- Ms. Armida Fernandez - Medicine, Maharashtra
- Shri Arvind Vaidya - Art, Gujarat
- Shri Ashok Khade - Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
- Shri Ashok Kumar Singh - Science and Engineering, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Asok Kumar Haldar - Literature and Education, West Bengal
- Shri Baldev Singh - Sports, Punjab
- Shri Bhagwandas Raikwar - Sports, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Bharat Singh Bharti - Art, Bihar
- Shri Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Bishwa Bandhu (Posthumous) - Art, Bihar
- Shri Brij Lal Bhat - Social Work, Jammu and Kashmir
- Shri Buddha Rashmi Mani - Others – Archaeology, Uttar Pradesh
- Dr. Budhri Tati - Social Work, Chhattisgarh
- Shri Chandramouli Gaddamanugu - Science and Engineering, Telangana
- Shri Charan Hembram - Literature and Education, Odisha
- Shri Chiranji Lal Yadav - Art, Uttar Pradesh
- Ms. Deepika Reddy - Art, Telangana
- Shri Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya - Art, Gujarat
- Shri Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad - Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Gafruddin Mewati Jogi - Art, Rajasthan
- Shri Gambir Singh Yonzone - Literature and Education, West Bengal
- Shri Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (Posthumous) - Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Ms. Gayatri Balasubramanian & Ms. Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo) - Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Gopal Ji Trivedi - Science and Engineering, Bihar
- Shri Guduru Venkat Rao - Medicine, Telangana
- Shri H V Hande - Medicine, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Hally War - Social Work, Meghalaya
- Shri Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (Posthumous) - Art, West Bengal
- Shri Haricharan Saikia - Art, Assam
- Ms. Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar - Sports, Punjab
- Shri Inderjit Singh Sidhu - Social Work, Chandigarh
- Shri Janardan Bapurao Bothe - Social Work, Maharashtra
- Shri Jogesh Deuri - Others – Agriculture, Assam
- Shri Juzer Vasi - Science and Engineering, Maharashtra
- Shri Jyotish Debnath - Art, West Bengal
- Shri K Pajanivel - Sports, Puducherry
- Shri K Ramasamy - Science and Engineering, Tamil Nadu
- Shri K Vijay Kumar - Civil Service, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Kabindra Purkayastha (Posthumous) - Public Affairs, Assam
- Shri Kailash Chandra Pant - Literature and Education, Madhya Pradesh
- Ms. Kalamandalam Vimala Menon - Art, Kerala
- Shri Kewal Krishan Thakral - Medicine, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Khem Raj Sundriyal - Art, Haryana
- Ms. Kollakal Devaki Amma G - Social Work, Kerala
- Shri Krishnamurty Balasubramanian - Science and Engineering, Telangana
- Shri Kumar Bose - Art, West Bengal
- Shri Kumarasamy Thangaraj - Science and Engineering, Telangana
- Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch - Art, Germany
- Ms. Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova - Literature and Education, Russia
- Shri Madhavan Ranganathan - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Maganti Murali Mohan - Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Mahendra Kumar Mishra - Literature and Education, Odisha
- Shri Mahendra Nath Roy - Literature and Education, West Bengal
- Shri Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar - Literature and Education, Delhi
- Ms. Mangala Kapoor - Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai - Art, Gujarat
- Shri Mohan Nagar - Social Work, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Narayan Vyas - Others – Archaeology, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Naresh Chandra Dev Varma - Literature and Education, Tripura
- Shri Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala - Social Work, Gujarat
- Shri Nuruddin Ahmed - Art, Assam
- Shri Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan - Art, Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Padma Gurmet - Medicine, Ladakh
- Shri Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy - Medicine, Telangana
- Ms. Pokhila Lekthepi - Art, Assam
- Dr. Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore - Literature and Education, Karnataka
- Shri Prateek Sharma - Medicine, United States of America
- Shri Praveen Kumar - Sports, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Prem Lal Gautam - Science and Engineering, Himachal Pradesh
- Shri Prosenjit Chatterjee - Art, West Bengal
- Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan - Medicine, Tamil Nadu
- Shri R Krishnan (Posthumous) - Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri R V S Mani - Civil Service, Delhi
- Shri Rabilal Tudu - Literature and Education, West Bengal
- Shri Raghupat Singh (Posthumous) - Others – Agriculture, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar - Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Rajendra Prasad - Medicine, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Rama Reddy Mamidi (Posthumous) - Others – Animal Husbandry, Telangana
- Shri Ramamurthy Sreedher - Others – Radio Broadcasting, Delhi
- Shri Ramchandra Godbole & Ms. Suneeta Godbole (Duo) - Medicine, Chhattisgarh
- Shri Ratilal Borisagar - Literature and Education, Gujarat
- Shri Rohit Sharma - Sports, Maharashtra
- Ms. S G Susheelamma - Social Work, Karnataka
- Shri Sangyusang S Pongener - Art, Nagaland
- Sant Niranjan Dass - Others – Spiritualism, Punjab
- Shri Sarat Kumar Patra - Art, Odisha
- Shri Saroj Mandal - Medicine, West Bengal
- Shri Satish Shah (Posthumous) - Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Satyanarayan Nuwal - Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
- Ms. Savita Punia - Sports, Haryana
- Prof. Shafi Shauq - Literature and Education, Jammu and Kashmir
- Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati - Literature and Education, Karnataka
- Shri Shrirang Devaba Lad - Others – Agriculture, Maharashtra
- Ms. Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar - Science and Engineering, Karnataka
- Shri Shyam Sundar - Medicine, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Simanchal Patro - Art, Odisha
- Ms. Sivasankari - Literature and Education, Tamil Nadu
- Dr. Suresh Hanagavadi - Medicine, Karnataka
- Swami Brahmdev Ji Maharaj - Social Work, Rajasthan
- Shri T T Jagannathan (Posthumous) - Trade and Industry, Karnataka
- Shri Taga Ram Bheel - Art, Rajasthan
- Shri Tarun Bhattacharya - Art, West Bengal
- Shri Techi Gubin - Social Work, Arunachal Pradesh
- Shri Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam - Art, Tamil Nadu
- Ms. Tripti Mukherjee - Art, West Bengal
- Shri Veezhinathan Kamakoti - Science and Engineering, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Vempaty Kutumba Sastry - Literature and Education, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous) - Sports, Georgia
- Shri Yumnam Jatra Singh (Posthumous) - Art, Manipur
Significance of the Padma Awards
The Padma Awards are among India's highest civilian honours, established to recognize outstanding contributions in various fields. Announced annually on Republic Day eve, they serve as a testament to the nation's rich diversity and talent. The 2026 list continues this tradition, celebrating individuals from across India and the globe, including international recipients from countries like the United States, Germany, Russia, and Georgia.
This announcement underscores the government's commitment to honouring excellence and inspiring future generations to contribute to society in meaningful ways.
