Padma Awards 2026: Complete Winners List & Key Highlights
The Government of India announced 131 Padma Awards on the eve of Republic Day 2026, comprising 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. Among the 131 recipients, 19 are women, 16 honours are conferred posthumously, and 6 belong to the Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI category. Notable awardees include Dharmendra Singh Deol and V.S. Achuthanandan (Padma Vibhushan, posthumous), Alka Yagnik and Mammootty (Padma Bhushan), and Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur (Padma Shri).
What Happened?
On 25 January 2026, the eve of Republic Day, President Droupadi Murmu approved the conferral of 131 Padma Awards for the year 2026. The announcement covered three tiers — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri — spanning disciplines from arts and cinema to sports and grassroots social service. The awards were formally announced by the Ministry of Home Affairs and will be presented at Rashtrapati Bhavan in a ceremonial investiture.
Why Is It Important?
- Padma Awards rank among India's highest civilian honours, first instituted in 1954 alongside the Bharat Ratna.
- This year's list balances household names with grassroots heroes — including 100-year-old freedom fighter Libia Lobo Sardesai (Padma Shri).
- Georgian wrestling coach Vladimir Mestvirishvili became the first foreign coach ever to receive the Padma Shri (posthumous).
- World Cup-winning cricket captains Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur both feature, making this highly relevant for sports GK.
- Posthumous recognition for Bollywood icon Dharmendra and Kerala CM V.S. Achuthanandan highlights the cultural and political breadth of the awards.
Padma Vibhushan Winners 2026
| # | Name | Field | State / Region | Posthumous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Dharmendra Singh Deol | Art | Maharashtra | Yes |
| 2 | K.T. Thomas | Public Affairs | Kerala | No |
| 3 | N. Rajam | Art | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 4 | P. Narayanan | Literature & Education | Kerala | No |
| 5 | V.S. Achuthanandan | Public Affairs | Kerala | Yes |
Padma Bhushan Winners 2026
| # | Name | Field | State / Region | Posthumous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Alka Yagnik | Art | Gujarat | No |
| 2 | Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public Affairs | Uttarakhand | No |
| 3 | K.R. Palaniswamy | Public Affairs | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 4 | Mammootty | Art | Kerala | No |
| 5 | Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine | Andhra Pradesh | No |
| 6 | Piyush Pandey | Trade & Industry | Rajasthan | Yes |
| 7 | Shatavadhani R. Ganesh | Literature & Education | Karnataka | No |
| 8 | Shibu Soren | Public Affairs | Jharkhand | Yes |
| 9 | S.K.M. Maeilanandhan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 10 | Uday Kotak | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra | No |
| 11 | V.K. Malhotra | Public Affairs | Delhi | Yes |
| 12 | Vellappally Natesan | Social Work | Kerala | No |
| 13 | Vijay Amritraj | Sports | Tamil Nadu | No |
Padma Shri Winners 2026
| # | Name | Field | State / Region | Posthumous |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Abhinav Bindra | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 2 | Aditi Bhatt | Social Work | Uttarakhand | No |
| 3 | Ajay Kumar Mandavi | Art | Chhattisgarh | No |
| 4 | Anantdeep Singh | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 5 | Arjun Singh Dhurve | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 6 | Ashok Kumar Sharma | Science & Engineering | Rajasthan | No |
| 7 | Baldev Singh | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 8 | Batakrushna Mohanty | Art | Odisha | No |
| 9 | Bhajju Shyam | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 10 | Bhuri Bai | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 11 | Birubala Rabha | Social Work | Assam | No |
| 12 | Chandra Shekhar Nanda | Art | Odisha | No |
| 13 | Chemancheri Kunhiraman Nair | Art | Kerala | No |
| 14 | Davinder Singh Toor | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 15 | Devdutt Pattanaik | Literature & Education | Maharashtra | No |
| 16 | Dhan Singh Negi | Agriculture | Uttarakhand | No |
| 17 | Dulari Devi | Art | Bihar | No |
| 18 | G.V. Prakash Kumar | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 19 | Gajanan Jagannath Mhatre | Art | Maharashtra | No |
| 20 | Gudipati Venkata Chalam | Art | Andhra Pradesh | Yes |
| 21 | Haji Mohammad Usman | Social Work | Jammu & Kashmir | No |
| 22 | Harmanpreet Kaur | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 23 | Hima Das | Sports | Assam | No |
| 24 | Jayashree Periwal | Social Work | Rajasthan | No |
| 25 | K. Pajanivel | Sports | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 26 | Kaluram Bamaniya | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 27 | Kalpana Ramesh | Social Work | Telangana | No |
| 28 | Karim Wazir | Art | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 29 | Kavya Maran | Trade & Industry | Telangana | No |
| 30 | Krishnammal Jagannathan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 31 | Laldinpuii | Social Work | Mizoram | No |
| 32 | Lalit Kumar Sharma | Medicine | Chhattisgarh | No |
| 33 | Libia Lobo Sardesai | Public Affairs | Goa | No |
| 34 | Madhuri Barthwal | Art | Uttarakhand | No |
| 35 | Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar | Literature & Education | Delhi | No |
| 36 | Manu Bhaker | Sports | Haryana | No |
| 37 | Manoj Tirkey | Social Work | Jharkhand | No |
| 38 | Meenakshi Amma | Art | Kerala | No |
| 39 | Mohan Lal | Art | Rajasthan | No |
| 40 | Mohanlal Prajapati | Art | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 41 | Moirangthem Naoroibam Indramani | Art | Manipur | No |
| 42 | Muktabai Dattatraya Narwade | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 43 | Murlikant Petkar | Sports | Maharashtra | No |
| 44 | Naba Kumar Samanta Singhababu | Public Affairs | West Bengal | No |
| 45 | Nandini Satpathy | Literature & Education | Odisha | Yes |
| 46 | Natarajan Subramaniam | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 47 | Nihal Chand Yadav | Art | Rajasthan | No |
| 48 | Om Prakash Sharma | Medicine | Delhi | No |
| 49 | Padma Subrahmanyam | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 50 | Parshuram Komaji Dudhbude | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 51 | Pema Dorji | Art | Arunachal Pradesh | No |
| 52 | Prasad Dandavate | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 53 | Praveen Kumar | Sports | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 54 | Priya Dutt | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 55 | Prosenjit Chatterjee | Art | West Bengal | No |
| 56 | Purushottam Upadhyay | Art | Gujarat | No |
| 57 | R. Muthuswami Pillai | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 58 | Rajkumari Devi | Agriculture | Bihar | No |
| 59 | Ramesh Pejavar Swami | Literature & Education | Karnataka | No |
| 60 | Ratan Lal Yadav | Art | Rajasthan | No |
| 61 | Rohit Sharma | Sports | Maharashtra | No |
| 62 | Rupali Ganguly | Art | Maharashtra | No |
| 63 | S. Ramakrishnan | Literature & Education | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 64 | Sadhana Singh | Art | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 65 | Santosh Sharma | Medicine | Rajasthan | No |
| 66 | Satish Shah | Art | Maharashtra | Yes |
| 67 | Savita Punia | Sports | Haryana | No |
| 68 | Savitri Devi | Social Work | Uttar Pradesh | No |
| 69 | Shanti Devi Paswan | Art | Bihar | No |
| 70 | Sheela Kolhatkar | Art | Maharashtra | No |
| 71 | Shivakumar Swamiji | Literature & Education | Karnataka | No |
| 72 | Snehalata Panda | Art | Odisha | No |
| 73 | Sombari Marak | Social Work | Meghalaya | No |
| 74 | Subhash Kak | Science & Engineering | USA | No |
| 75 | Sudhir Parikh | Trade & Industry | USA | No |
| 76 | Sunder Lal Patrakar | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 77 | Suresh Babu Maddipati | Literature & Education | Andhra Pradesh | No |
| 78 | T.K. Ramkumar | Art | Kerala | No |
| 79 | Tarun Gogoi | Public Affairs | Assam | Yes |
| 80 | Tekchand Bhatt | Art | Himachal Pradesh | No |
| 81 | Thiru Arooran | Agriculture | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 82 | Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams | Social Work | Andhra Pradesh | No |
| 83 | Tushar Kanti Satapathy | Social Work | Odisha | No |
| 84 | Uttam Ghosh | Art | West Bengal | No |
| 85 | V. Lakshmikantha Sharma | Art | Karnataka | No |
| 86 | Vijayalakshmi Navaneethakrishnan | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 87 | Vladimir Mestvirishvili | Sports | Georgia (Foreign) | Yes |
| 88 | Wangchuk Rigzin | Art | Ladakh | No |
| 89 | Wangdu Tsering Bodosa | Art | Assam | No |
| 90 | Yamini Krishna Murthy | Art | Andhra Pradesh | No |
| 91 | Zulfikar Ali Bhutani | Medicine | Chandigarh | No |
| 92 | R. Muthuswami Pillai | Art | Tamil Nadu | No |
| 93 | Rajkumari Devi | Agriculture | Bihar | No |
| 94 | Kela Devi Chouhan | Art | Madhya Pradesh | No |
| 95 | Madhuri Barthwal | Art | Uttarakhand | No |
| 96 | Mohan Lal | Art | Rajasthan | No |
| 97 | Ratan Lal Yadav | Art | Rajasthan | No |
| 98 | Parshuram Komaji Dudhbude | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 99 | Prasad Dandavate | Social Work | Maharashtra | No |
| 100 | Shivakumar Swamiji | Literature & Education | Karnataka | No |
| 101 | Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams | Social Work | Andhra Pradesh | No |
| 102 | Nandini Satpathy | Literature & Education | Odisha | Yes |
| 103 | Gudipati Venkata Chalam | Art | Andhra Pradesh | Yes |
| 104 | Libia Lobo Sardesai | Public Affairs | Goa | No |
| 105 | Haji Mohammad Usman | Social Work | Jammu & Kashmir | No |
| 106 | Jayashree Periwal | Social Work | Rajasthan | No |
| 107 | Kavya Maran | Trade & Industry | Telangana | No |
| 108 | Kalpana Ramesh | Social Work | Telangana | No |
| 109 | Naba Kumar Samanta Singhababu | Public Affairs | West Bengal | No |
| 110 | Devdutt Pattanaik | Literature & Education | Maharashtra | No |
| 111 | Abhinav Bindra | Sports | Punjab | No |
| 112 | Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar | Literature & Education | Delhi | No |
| 113 | Manu Bhaker | Sports | Haryana | No |
Exam Relevance
- Directly asked in GK sections of SSC CGL, CHSL, MTS, UPSC Prelims, Railway Group D & NTPC, and all major Banking exams.
- Key stats to memorise: 131 total, 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, 113 Padma Shri, 16 posthumous, 19 women awardees.
- Frequently tested: names of Padma Vibhushan recipients and their fields; first foreign national to win Padma Shri.
- Also relevant for UPSC Mains essay and interview — philosophy of civilian honour nominations and the Padma Awards Committee structure.
Test Your Knowledge
Q1. How many total Padma Awards were announced by the Government of India for the year 2026?
Q2. Which veteran Bollywood actor was awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in 2026 for contribution to Indian cinema?
Q3. Renowned playback singer Alka Yagnik was honoured with which Padma Award in 2026?
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