Why in the news
The President handed over the second batch of 2026 Padma Awards in New Delhi, with Prime Minister Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah and Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan among those present.
Key facts
- Total for 2026: 131 awards, declared the day before Republic Day (25 January 2026); two duo cases count as one.
- Second Civil Investiture: 65 awards, made up of 56 Padma Shri, 7 Padma Bhushan and 2 Padma Vibhushan.
- First Civil Investiture: 26 May 2026, with 66 awards.
- Profile: 19 women, 16 posthumous honourees, 6 foreigners, NRIs, PIOs or OCIs.
Padma Vibhushan 2026 (5)
| Recipient | State | Field |
|---|
| Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous; received by wife Hema Malini) | Maharashtra | Cinema |
| K T Thomas | Kerala | Law, public affairs |
| N Rajam | Uttar Pradesh | Violin |
| P Narayanan | Kerala | Literature and education |
| V S Achuthanandhan (posthumous; former Kerala CM) | Kerala | Public affairs |
Padma Bhushan 2026 (13)
| Recipient | Field | State or country |
|---|
| Mammootty | Cinema | Kerala |
| Alka Yagnik | Playback singing | Maharashtra |
| Uday Kotak | Banking (trade and industry) | Maharashtra |
| Vijay Amritraj | Tennis | United States |
| Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine (oncology) | United States |
| Piyush Pandey (posthumous) | Advertising | Maharashtra |
| Shibu Soren (posthumous; former Jharkhand CM) | Public affairs | Jharkhand |
| V K Malhotra (posthumous) | Public affairs | Delhi (state) |
| Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public affairs | Uttarakhand |
| Vellappally Natesan | Social leadership | Kerala |
| Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| S K M Maeilanandhan | Social service | Tamil Nadu |
| Shatavadhani R Ganesh | Art | Karnataka |
Some Padma Shri recipients (113 in all)
- Sports: Rohit Sharma (cricket), Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar (cricket), Savita Punia (hockey).
- Arts: R Madhavan (cinema), Satish Shah (TV, posthumous), Deepika Reddy (Kuchipudi), Kalamandalam Vimala.
- Others: Anke Gowda M (organic farming), Armida Fernandez (medicine), A E Muthunayagam (science and engineering), Shashi Shekhar Vempati and Sivasankari (literature and education), Ashok Khade (trade and industry).
The Padma Awards system
| Award | Recognises | Rank among civilian honours |
|---|
| Padma Vibhushan | Exceptional, distinguished service | Second, below Bharat Ratna |
| Padma Bhushan | High-order distinguished service | Third |
| Padma Shri | Distinguished service, any field | Fourth |
- Instituted in 1954; the Home Ministry runs them and announces winners via the Gazette of India.
- Fields covered: art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, business, medicine, literature, education, civil service and sports.
- Presented by the President at a Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually March-April, though recently sometimes May-June.
- They are not titles as per Article 18(1), so recipients may not add them before or after their names.
Exam angle
- Split of 131: 5 + 13 + 113; ceremonies: 66 (26 May) then 65.
- Run by the Home Ministry; ranked below the Bharat Ratna.
- Posthumous Vibhushan: Dharmendra and V S Achuthanandhan.