Every year, India pauses to recognise people whose work quietly shapes the nation. These honours cut across fields, from science and medicine to art, sports, social service, and public affairs. They celebrate impact, not popularity, and years of contribution rather than single moments. In 2026, this tradition continued with the Padma Awards, among India’s highest civilian honours. The awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day, acknowledging individuals whose work has strengthened society at national and international levels. The Padma Awards 2026 include honours across three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Below is a list of Padma award winners and what each category represents.
Padma Awards 2026 Winners List
Padma Awards 2026: Padma Vibhushan (5)
This is the second-highest civilian award in India. It is given for exceptional and distinguished service at the highest level, often recognising lifelong contribution and global impact.
| Name | Field | State / Country |
| 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 |
Padma Bhushan (13)
This award honours distinguished service of a high order. Recipients are individuals whose work has brought significant national or international recognition in their respective fields.
| Name | Field | State / Country |
| 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 |
Also, read – Group Captain Astronaut Shubhanshu Shukla Conferred With Ashoka Chakra
Padma Awards 2026: Padma Shri (113)
The Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field. It recognises excellence and dedication, often highlighting grassroots impact and long-term commitment to society.
| Name | Field | State / Country |
| 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 and 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 and 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 |
Did you know? The Padma awards are presented at a formal ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, where recipients receive their medals from the President of India.
And, don’t miss reading – Top 50: The Firsts of India Every Child Should Know!
Subscribe to The Junior Age Newspaper – click here. Know more fun facts on The Junior Age’s YouTube!