The Centre on Sunday announced the Padma Awards for 2026, approving 131 civilian honours across the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri categories. The list includes several prominent names from public life, arts, cinema, literature, sports and public affairs, with five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards this year.
Among the Padma Vibhushan awardees are veteran actor Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous), former Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan (posthumous), classical violinist N Rajam, former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas, and noted writer P Narayanan. The highest civilian award category recognises “exceptional and distinguished service”.
The Padma Bhushan list features several reknowned personalities, including singer Alka Yagnik, actor Mammootty, industrialist Uday Kotak, former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, advertising veteran Piyush Pandey (posthumous), social leader Vellappally Natesan, and tennis icon Vijay Amritraj. The category honours “distinguished service of high order”.
The Padma Shri list for 2026 features a wide mix of nationally known figures and grassroots contributors, cutting across sports, arts, science, medicine and social work. Indian cricket captain Rohit Sharma has been awarded the Padma Shri, along with women’s hockey player Savita Punia and women’s national cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated the awardees on X, saying, “Congratulations to all the Padma Awardees for their outstanding contributions to our nation. Their excellence, dedication and service across diverse fields enrich the fabric of our society. The honour reflects the spirit of commitment and excellence that continues to inspire generations.”
The Padma Awards are announced annually on the occasion of Republic Day and are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April. This year’s list includes 19 women awardees, six foreigners or persons of Indian origin abroad, and 16 posthumous honours. The awards span diverse fields such as art, public affairs, medicine, literature and education, sports, science and engineering, social work, civil service, and trade and industry.
FULL LIST OF PADMA AWARDEES 2026
Padma Vibhushan
Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous)
K T Thomas
N Rajam
P Narayanan
V S Achuthanandhan (posthumous)
Padma Bhushan
Alka Yagnik
Bhagat Singh Koshyari
Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy
Mammootty
Nori Dattatreyudu
Piyush Pandey (posthumous)
S K M Maeilanandhan
Shatavadhani R Ganesh
Shibu Soren (posthumous)
Uday Kotak
V K Malhotra (posthumous)
Vellappally Natesan
Vijay Amritraj
Padma Shri
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
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
Ranjani Balasubramanian
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
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
Padma Gurmet
Palkonda Vijay Anand Reddy
Pokhila Lekthepi
Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore
Prateek Sharma
Praveen Kumar
Prem Lal Gautam
Prosenjit Chatterjee
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
Suneeta Godbole
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
Shafi Shauq
Shashi Shekhar Vempati
Shrirang Devaba Lad
Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar
Shyam Sundar
Simanchal Patro
Sivasankari
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)