The Padma Awards, among India’s most prestigious civilian honours, will once again be conferred on Republic Day this year, recognising outstanding contributions across diverse fields. The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Sunday released the official list of Padma awardees for 2026, celebrating individuals whose work has left a lasting impact on society .
131 awards approved across three categories
According to the MHA press note, the President of India has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards this year, including two duo cases, which are counted as a single award. The honours include five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards .
The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of a high order, and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The 2026 list features achievers from a broad spectrum of disciplines, including art, social work, public affairs, medicine, science and engineering, literature and education, sports, trade and industry, and civil services. The awards also reflect geographical diversity, with recipients hailing from multiple states as well as from abroad.
Among the most prominent names are veteran actor Dharmendra and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandhan, both honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan, along with renowned violinist N Rajam and jurist K T Thomas. The Padma Bhushan list features celebrated singer Alka Yagnik, actor Mammootty, industrialist Uday Kotak, advertising stalwart Piyush Pandey (posthumous) and tennis legend Vijay Amritraj. The Padma Shri awards honour a wide range of achievers, including Indian cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, Bollywood actor Satish Shah (posthumous), sportspersons Rohit Sharma and Savita Punia, along with several grassroots contributors described as the country’s “unsung heroes”. The list also includes 19 women awardees, six foreign nationals, and 16 posthumous honours, reflecting the diversity and reach of the civilian awards.
Check full list of ‘unsung heroes’ honoured
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
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
Padma Shri Awardees (113)
- 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)
