Padma Awards 2026: Complete Winners List with Categories & Highlights
Every year on the eve of Republic Day, the Government of India announces the Padma Awards—one of the country’s highest civilian honors. First instituted back in 1954, these awards celebrate individuals who have given exceptional service across art, literature, medicine, sports, science, public service, social work, and industry.
For 2026, the President of India approved 131 Padma Awards, broken down into:
- Padma Vibhushan: 5
- Padma Bhushan: 13
- Padma Shri: 113
This year’s awardees feature 19 women, 16 posthumous honors, and recognition for foreign/OCI dignitaries.
Overview of Padma Award Categories
- Padma Vibhushan: Given for “exceptional and distinguished service”. It stands as India’s second-highest civilian honor right after the Bharat Ratna.
- Padma Bhushan: Given for “distinguished service of a high order”, representing the third-highest civilian honor.
- Padma Shri: Given for “distinguished service” in any specialized field—the fourth-highest civilian award in the nation.
Key Highlights of Padma Awards 2026
- Posthumous Honors: Screen legend Dharmendra Singh Deol (Art) and former Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandhan (Public Affairs) were posthumously conferred the Padma Vibhushan. Ad veteran Piyush Pandey (Art) and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren (Public Affairs) received the Padma Bhushan posthumously.
- Industry & Banking Leaders: Prominent banker Uday Kotak was awarded the Padma Bhushan in Trade & Industry.
- Arts & Culture Legends: Playback singer Alka Yagnik and iconic actor Mammootty received the Padma Bhushan, while renowned violinist Ms. N. Rajam received the Padma Vibhushan.
- Sports Figures: Cricket star Rohit Sharma, Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, and hockey star Savita Punia were named Padma Shri awardees. Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj was honored with the Padma Bhushan.
1. Padma Vibhushan 2026 Winners List (5)
| SN | Name | Field | State / Country |
| 1 | Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 2 | Shri K T 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 |
2. Padma Bhushan 2026 Winners List (13)
| SN | Name | Field | State / Country |
| 1 | Ms. Alka Yagnik | Art | Maharashtra |
| 2 | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public Affairs | Uttarakhand |
| 3 | Shri Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 4 | Shri Mammootty | Art | Kerala |
| 5 | Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine | USA |
| 6 | Shri Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 7 | Shri S K M Maeilanandhan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu |
| 8 | Shri Shatavadhani R Ganesh | Art | Karnataka |
| 9 | Shri Shibu Soren (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Jharkhand |
| 10 | Shri Uday Kotak | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 11 | Shri V K Malhotra (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Delhi |
| 12 | Shri Vellappally Natesan | Public Affairs | Kerala |
| 13 | Shri Vijay Amritraj | Sports | USA |
3. Padma Shri 2026 Winners List (Full 113 Awardees)
| SN | Name | Field | State / Country |
| 1 | Shri A E Muthunayagam | Science and Engineering | Kerala |
| 2 | Shri Anil Kumar Rastogi | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| 3 | Shri Anke Gowda M. | Social Work | Karnataka |
| 4 | Ms. Armida Fernandez | Medicine | Maharashtra |
| 5 | Shri Arvind Vaidya | Art | Gujarat |
| 6 | Shri Ashok Khade | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 7 | Shri Ashok Kumar Singh | Science and Engineering | Uttar Pradesh |
| 8 | Shri Asok Kumar Haldar | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 9 | Shri Baldev Singh | Sports | Punjab |
| 10 | Shri Bhagwandas Raikwar | Sports | Madhya Pradesh |
| 11 | Shri Bharat Singh Bharti | Art | Bihar |
| 12 | Shri Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda | Art | Maharashtra |
| 13 | Shri Bishwa Bandhu (Posthumous) | Art | Bihar |
| 14 | Shri Brij Lal Bhat | Social Work | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 15 | Shri Buddha Rashmi Mani | Others – Archaeology | Uttar Pradesh |
| 16 | Dr. Budhri Tati | Social Work | Chhattisgarh |
| 17 | Shri Chandramouli Gaddamanugu | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 18 | Shri Charan Hembram | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| 19 | Shri Chiranji Lal Yadav | Art | Uttar Pradesh |
| 20 | Ms. Deepika Reddy | Art | Telangana |
| 21 | Shri Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya | Art | Gujarat |
| 22 | Shri Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 23 | Shri Gafruddin Mewati Jogi | Art | Rajasthan |
| 24 | Shri Gambir Singh Yonzone | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 25 | Shri Garimella Balakrishna Prasad (Posthumous) | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 26 | Ms. Gayatri Balasubramanian & Ms. Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo) | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 27 | Shri Gopal Ji Trivedi | Science and Engineering | Bihar |
| 28 | Shri Guduru Venkat Rao | Medicine | Telangana |
| 29 | Shri H V Hande | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 30 | Shri Hally War | Social Work | Meghalaya |
| 31 | Shri Hari Madhab Mukhopadhyay (Posthumous) | Art | West Bengal |
| 32 | Shri Haricharan Saikia | Art | Assam |
| 33 | Ms. Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar | Sports | Punjab |
| 34 | Shri Inderjit Singh Sidhu | Social Work | Chandigarh |
| 35 | Shri Janardan Bapurao Bothe | Social Work | Maharashtra |
| 36 | Shri Jogesh Deuri | Others – Agriculture | Assam |
| 37 | Shri Juzer Vasi | Science and Engineering | Maharashtra |
| 38 | Shri Jyotish Debnath | Art | West Bengal |
| 39 | Shri K Pajanivel | Sports | Puducherry |
| 40 | Shri K Ramasamy | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| 41 | Shri K Vijay Kumar | Civil Service | Tamil Nadu |
| 42 | Shri Kabindra Purkayastha (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Assam |
| 43 | Shri Kailash Chandra Pant | Literature and Education | Madhya Pradesh |
| 44 | Ms. Kalamandalam Vimala Menon | Art | Kerala |
| 45 | Shri Kewal Krishan Thakral | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 46 | Shri Khem Raj Sundriyal | Art | Haryana |
| 47 | Ms. Kollakal Devaki Amma G | Social Work | Kerala |
| 48 | Shri Krishnamurty Balasubramanian | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 49 | Shri Kumar Bose | Art | West Bengal |
| 50 | Shri Kumarasamy Thangaraj | Science and Engineering | Telangana |
| 51 | Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch | Art | Germany |
| 52 | Ms. Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova | Literature and Education | Russia |
| 53 | Shri Madhavan Ranganathan | Art | Maharashtra |
| 54 | Shri Maganti Murali Mohan | Art | Andhra Pradesh |
| 55 | Shri Mahendra Kumar Mishra | Literature and Education | Odisha |
| 56 | Shri Mahendra Nath Roy | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 57 | Shri Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar | Literature and Education | Delhi |
| 58 | Ms. Mangala Kapoor | Literature and Education | Uttar Pradesh |
| 59 | Shri Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai | Art | Gujarat |
| 60 | Shri Mohan Nagar | Social Work | Madhya Pradesh |
| 61 | Shri Narayan Vyas | Others – Archaeology | Madhya Pradesh |
| 62 | Shri Naresh Chandra Dev Varma | Literature and Education | Tripura |
| 63 | Shri Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala | Social Work | Gujarat |
| 64 | Shri Nuruddin Ahmed | Art | Assam |
| 65 | Shri Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 66 | Dr. Padma Gurmet | Medicine | Ladakh |
| 67 | Shri Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy | Medicine | Telangana |
| 68 | Ms. Pokhila Lekthepi | Art | Assam |
| 69 | Dr. Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| 70 | Shri Prateek Sharma | Medicine | USA |
| 71 | Shri Praveen Kumar | Sports | Uttar Pradesh |
| 72 | Shri Prem Lal Gautam | Science and Engineering | Himachal Pradesh |
| 73 | Shri Prosenjit Chatterjee | Art | West Bengal |
| 74 | Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 75 | Shri R Krishnan (Posthumous) | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 76 | Shri R V S Mani | Civil Service | Delhi |
| 77 | Shri Rabilal Tudu | Literature and Education | West Bengal |
| 78 | Shri Raghupat Singh (Posthumous) | Others – Agriculture | Uttar Pradesh |
| 79 | Shri Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar | Art | Maharashtra |
| 80 | Shri Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 81 | Shri Rajendra Prasad | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 82 | Shri Rama Reddy Mamidi (Posthumous) | Others – Animal Husbandry | Telangana |
| 83 | Shri Ramamurthy Sreedher | Others – Radio Broadcasting | Delhi |
| 84 | Shri Ramchandra Godbole & Ms. Suneeta Godbole (Duo) | Medicine | Chhattisgarh |
| 85 | Shri Ratilal Borisagar | Literature and Education | Gujarat |
| 86 | Shri Rohit Sharma | Sports | Maharashtra |
| 87 | Ms. S G Susheelamma | Social Work | Karnataka |
| 88 | Shri Sangyusang S Pongener | Art | Nagaland |
| 89 | Sant Niranjan Dass | Others – Spiritualism | Punjab |
| 90 | Shri Sarat Kumar Patra | Art | Odisha |
| 91 | Shri Saroj Mandal | Medicine | West Bengal |
| 92 | Shri Satish Shah (Posthumous) | Art | Maharashtra |
| 93 | Shri Satyanarayan Nuwal | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
| 94 | Ms. Savita Punia | Sports | Haryana |
| 95 | Prof. Shafi Shauq | Literature and Education | Jammu and Kashmir |
| 96 | Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| 97 | Shri Shrirang Devaba Lad | Others – Agriculture | Maharashtra |
| 98 | Ms. Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar | Science and Engineering | Karnataka |
| 99 | Shri Shyam Sundar | Medicine | Uttar Pradesh |
| 100 | Shri Simanchal Patro | Art | Odisha |
| 101 | Ms. Sivasankari | Literature and Education | Tamil Nadu |
| 102 | Dr. Suresh Hanagavadi | Medicine | Karnataka |
| 103 | Swami Brahmdev Ji Maharaj | Social Work | Rajasthan |
| 104 | Shri T T Jagannathan (Posthumous) | Trade and Industry | Karnataka |
| 105 | Shri Taga Ram Bheel | Art | Rajasthan |
| 106 | Shri Tarun Bhattacharya | Art | West Bengal |
| 107 | Shri Techi Gubin | Social Work | Arunachal Pradesh |
| 108 | Shri Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam | Art | Tamil Nadu |
| 109 | Ms. Tripti Mukherjee | Art | West Bengal |
| 110 | Shri Veezhinathan Kamakoti | Science and Engineering | Tamil Nadu |
| 111 | Shri Vempaty Kutumba Sastry | Literature and Education | Andhra Pradesh |
| 112 | Shri Vladimer Mestvirishvili (Posthumous) | Sports | Georgia |
| 113 | Shri Yumnam Jatra Singh (Posthumous) | Art | Manipur |
Nomination & Selection Process for Padma Awards
- Nomination Filing via Open Portal: Through the “People’s Padma” program, any Indian citizen can put forward deserving names or submit a self-nomination using the official Rashtriya Puraskar Portal (awards.gov.in).
- Evaluation Framework: Every nomination undergoes review by an independent Padma Awards Committee appointed by the Prime Minister each year.
- 800-Word Citation Limit: Submissions require a detailed narrative citation capped strictly at 800 words, covering verified field work, leadership, and public contributions.
If you need specialized guidance on dossier curation, profile framing, or writing official citations according to government guidelines, explore Skald Consulting LLP.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. How many Padma Awards were given in 2026?
The government announced 131 Padma Awards in total for 2026: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri.
Q2. When are the Padma Awards announced each year?
The awards are officially released on the eve of Republic Day (January 25).
Q3. Is self-nomination permitted for Padma Awards?
Yes. Current rules allow any individual to file a self-nomination directly on the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal while the nomination window remains open.
