Padma Awards 2026: Ceremony Highlights And Full List of Recipients Across Fields

President Droupadi Murmu presented Padma awards to 66 recipients at the first civil investiture ceremony for 2026, held at the Ganatantra Mandap in Rashtrapati Bhavan. Late actor Dharmendra, advertising figure late Piyush Pandey, former UGC chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar and Indian women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur were among the most recognised names honoured during the event.

The awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day and cover a wide range of work. Recipients are chosen from fields such as art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service. The Padma awards are considered among the country’s highest civilian honours.

Padma awards highlight 2026 list and overall numbers

For 2026, President Droupadi Murmu approved a total of 131 Padma awards. The list includes five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri honours. Of these, 66 awardees received their insignia at this first ceremony, while the remaining recipients will be honoured during a second round to be held later, according to news agency PTI, citing sources.

The Padma Vibhushan list featured late Dharmendra, recognised for decades of work in Indian cinema, along with Dr. N. Rajam. In the Padma Bhushan category, late Piyush Pandey was honoured for contributions to advertising, while Dr. Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy featured on the list. Padma Shri awards went to individuals from diverse regions and disciplines, reflecting a wide national spread.

Padma awards ceremony moments and key attendees

The ceremony drew several senior leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, vice president CP Radhakrishnan and Union home minister Amit Shah. A notable moment came when MP Hema Malini, described as teary eyed, received the Padma Vibhushan on behalf of late actor Dharmendra. The formal function followed the usual Rashtrapati Bhavan protocol for civil investiture events.

Among Padma Shri recipients were Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar for literature and education, K Pajanivel for traditional martial arts and Satyanarayan Nuwal, Solar Group chairman, for the defence manufacturing ecosystem. Senior journalist Kailash Chandra Pantenior, Paralympic gold medallist Praveen Kumar and Indian women's cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur were also honoured in this category.

The government’s list also included R. Krishnan Kitna (posthumous), Prof. (Dr.) Lars-Christian Koch, HV Hande, Gafaruddin Mewati Jogi, Mir Haji Kasam, Raghuvir Khedkar and actor Prosenjit Chatterjee. Others were Devaki Amma G, Ramchandra Godbole and Suneeta Godbole as a duo, Techi Gubin, Ratilal Mohanlal Borisagar, Kumar Bose, Janardan Bapurao Bothe, Swami Brahamdev and Bishwa Bandhu (posthumous).

Further Padma Shri awardees were Bharat Singh Bharti, Taga Ram Bheel, Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh, former Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, banker Uday Sureshkumar Kotak and late Vijay Kumar Malhotra (posthumous). The spread of names across arts, public life, finance, literature and social work underlined the broad criteria used each year for the selection of Padma award recipients.

See full list of winners here:

The first Padma awards ceremony for 2026 therefore recognised 66 individuals, with the remainder to be honoured later. With Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan and Padma Vibhushan recipients drawn from varied professions and regions, the awards list for this year reflected the government’s continued practice of acknowledging service across many areas of national life.