Padma Awards 2026: Dharmendra, Rohit Sharma, Alka Yagnik Among Recipients

Jan 27, 2026 - The Government of India has announced the list of Padma Awards recipients for 2026. The awards, declared on the eve of Republic Day, honour individuals for distinguished and exceptional service across many fields.

The Padma Awards - one of the highest civilian awards of the country - are conferred in three categories, namely Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards are given in various disciplines/fields of activities, such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc.

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order and Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. A total 131 distinguished individuals were honoured in 2026 across all Padma categories

For the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards including two duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one). The recipients comprise five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. Of them, 19 of the awardees are women and six are persons from the category of Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI while 16 have been awarded posthumously.

Padma Vibhushan

• 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

• Alka Yagnik – Art
• Bhagat Singh Koshyari – Public Affairs
• Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy – Medicine
• Mammootty – Art
• Dr Nori Dattatreyudu – Medicine
• Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) – Art
• SKM 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

Cricket and sports stars like Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur, Praveen Kumar and Savita Punia were honoured for their contributions to sport. Veteran scientist AE Muthunayagam from ISRO received the award for his long-standing contributions to science and engineering. Artists and cultural custodians include folk musicians, theatre performers and heritage scholars like Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad and Garimella Balakrishna Prasad. Actor Prosenjit Chatterjee and traditional folk artist Gafruddin Mewati Jogi were recognised for their contributions to Indian arts while actor Satish Shah received the award posthumously.

Unsung heroes from grassroots sectors — educators, social workers, environmental activists and community pioneers — feature prominently, reflecting a focus on service at the community level.

These awards will be conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which will be held at Rashtrapati Bhawan around March/April this year.

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