Padma Awards 2026 Shine Light on 131 Grassroots Heroes

President Droupadi Murmu has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards for 2026, one of India's highest civilian honours. A key highlight of this year's honours is the recognition of 45 unsung heroes from across the country. These awardees include social workers, educators, healthcare professionals, artists and community leaders who have worked quietly at the grassroots level for decades.

Many of them belong to marginalised communities, including Dalits, backward classes and primitive tribal groups, reflecting the government's focus on inclusive recognition.

The Padma Awards are conferred in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.

This year, five eminent personalities have been selected for the Padma Vibhushan, including legendary actor Dharmendra, renowned Carnatic violinist N. Rajam, and former Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan, among others.

The Padma Bhushan has been awarded to 13 distinguished individuals, featuring celebrated playback singer Alka Yagnik, actor Mammootty, former tennis star Vijay Amritraj, industrialist Uday Kotak, and noted advertising professional Piyush Pandey (posthumous).

A total of 113 personalities have been honoured with the Padma Shri for their contributions in fields such as art, literature, sports, science, medicine, agriculture, civil service and social work. The list includes sportspersons like Rohit Sharma, Harmanpreet Kaur and Savita Punia, artists, academicians, doctors, social activists and several posthumous awardees from different states and even abroad.

The Padma Awards 2026 once again underline India's commitment to celebrating excellence not just among prominent names, but also among those who have dedicated their lives to service away from the limelight.

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.

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, USA; 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, USA.

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 – 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 – 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 – 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) – 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) – Animal Husbandry, Telangana; Shri Ramamurthy Sreedher – 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 – 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 – 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.