New Delhi | Former Kerala chief minister and Communist leader V S Achuthanandan and actor Dharmendra are among the awardees to receive the second-highest civilian honour, Padma Vibhushan, posthumously for 2026, the government announced on Sunday.
In a statement, the government announced 131 Padma awards for the year 2026, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, which includes two duo cases in which the award for two individuals is counted as one.
Ninety awardees are women, and the list also includes six persons from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI, and 16 posthumous awardees, it said.
Besides Dharmendra and Achuthanandan, former Supreme Court judge KT Thomas for public affairs, Hindustani classical musician and violinist N Rajam in art, eminent Malayalam journalist P Narayanan in literature and education have also been awarded Padma Vibhushan, it said.
The Padma Bhushan has also been awarded to playback singer Alka Yagnik, former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, actor Mammootty, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj, banker Uday Kotak, Tamil Nadu-based gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy, US-based Oncologist Nori Dattatreyudu, social worker SKM Maeilanandhan, Avadhanam bhajan performer Shatavadhani R Ganesh and General Secretary of SNDP Yogam and SN Trust Vellappally Natesan, the statement mentioned further.
Senior BJP Leader VK Malhotra, JMM Founder and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren and advertising icon Piyush Pandey have been given the award posthumously.
Indian aerospace scientist in Defence Research and Development Laboratory, Chandramouli Gaddamanugu, who directed the Akash Missile system from development to deployment during Operation Sindoor, and ISRO's eminent scientist, A E Muthunayagam, who led the cryogenic propulsion system, have been awarded Padma Shri.
Ramamurthy Sreedher, the former CRPF DG and chief of STF that killed notorious poacher Veerappan and the founder of community radio in India, along with Satyanarayan Nuwal, the founder of India's first licensed private defence company, which pioneered manufacturing of indigenous ammunition, have also been awarded with Padma Shri.
Cricketer Rohit Sharma, who led India to victory in the last T20 World Cup, women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, who led India to its first ODI World Cup victory, hockey players Savita Punia and Baldev Singh, and para athlete Praveen Kumar have been awarded Padma Shri as well, the statement said.
Actors R Madhavan, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Sarabhai Vs Sarabhai actor Arvind Vaidya and Anil Kumar Rastogi, Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad have also been awarded Padma Shri.
Former MHA under secretary RVS Mani, former JNU VC M Jagadesh Kumar and former Prasar Bharti CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, archaeologist Budha Krishna Mani, who led excavations in Ayodhya and Sarnath, have been awarded Padma Shri, the ministry said.
The award has also been given to Ashok Khade, a self-made entrepreneur from a Dalit cobbler family, who established a cutting-edge offshore fabrication company; Ashok Kumar Singh, an agriculture scientist who developed over 25 rice varieties; and Dalit author Asok Kumar Haldar, who wrote inspiring literature while being a railway guard.
New Delhi | A former bus conductor who set up the world's largest free-access library, a paediatrician who formed Asia's first human milk bank, and a 90-year-old tribal musician were among 45 individuals chosen for the Padma Shri award in the 'unsung heroes' category on the occasion of Republic Day, sources said on Sunday.
Anke Gowda, once a bus conductor, set up the world's largest free-access library, 'Pustak Mane', comprising more than two million books in 20 languages, along with rare manuscripts.
The 75-year-old bibliophile from Haralahalli village near Mysuru in Karnataka has been chosen for the Padma Shri for his unique effort to empower learners across India.
Joining Gowda are medical practitioners Armida Fernandes, a Mumbai-based paediatrician who set up Asia's first human milk bank; Shyam Sundar, who developed an inexpensive test for the detection of ‘Kala Azar’ or black fever; and veteran haematologist Suresh Hangavadi, known for his works in the field of Haemophilia, an inherited blood disorder.
Also on the list are Ladakh-based Padma Gurmet, who promotes ancient Tibetan medicine; veterinary scientist Punniamurthy Natesan from Tamil Nadu, who used traditional medicine with modern science to treat animals; Hyderabad-based geneticist Kumarasamy Thangharaj; and founder of Donate Life, Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala from Gujarat, who facilitates organ donation.
The awardees include Bundeli war art trainer Bhagwandas Raikwar from Madhya Pradesh and Puducherry's K Pajanivel, who nurtured Silambam, an ancient Tamil weapon-based martial art form.
Bhiklya Ladakya Dhinda, a 90-year-old tribal Tarpa player – a musical instrument made of bottle gourd and bamboo – from Maharashtra; 100-year-old Yumnam Jatra Singh, a Nata Sankirtana performer from Manipur; Vishwa Bandhu, a folk dancer from Bihar; and Rajasthani folk artiste Gafruddin Mewati Jogi, who plays 'Bhapang', a traditional musical instrument, have also been awarded.
The list also includes Dharmiklal Chunilal Pandya, an exponent of 'Maanbhatt', a traditional Gujarati performing art form; and musician Taga Ram Bheel, who works to protect the fading traditional instrument, Algoza.
Well-known Sakhi Nata folk theatre actor from Odisha, Simanchal Patro; Naga folk theatre guru Sangyusang S Pongener; and scenographer Nuruddin Ahmed from Assam have also been awarded the fourth-highest civilian award for 2026.
Among the other ‘unsung heroes’ are Bhajan singer Othuvar Thiruthani Swaminathan from Tamil Nadu, R Krishnan from Tamil Nadu, who dedicated his life to reviving the centuries-old Kurumba tribal art tradition of the Nilgiris; Assam's Pokila Lekthepi for her contribution to Kabri folk and modern music; and Mir Hajibhai Kasambhai, who transformed the 'dholak' into a lead solo instrument.
Well-known social worker from J-K, Brij Lal Bhat; Budri Thati, who set up schools in the Naxal-affected areas of Chhattisgarh; Ramchandra and Sunita Godbole, who took affordable healthcare to the tribals through the Bastar rural healthcare project; former IPS officert Inderjit Singh Sandhu, a sanitation advocate and practitioner; and Techi Gubin from Arunachal Pradesh, who is working to preserve the culture of the Nishi people, have also been awarded Padma Shri.
Continuing with the principle of celebrating ordinary Indians making extraordinary contributions, this year's Padma Awards recognise a wide spectrum of unsung heroes from across the length and breadth of India, sources said.
They said each has overcome tremendous personal hardships and tragedies, not just to excel in their chosen fields, but also to serve society at large.
These include individuals from marginalised and Dalit communities, primitive tribes and those from remote and difficult terrains, they said.
The awardees truly epitomise everyday Indians silently going about their everyday lives, in the service of Bharat Mata, the sources said.
The list also includes Charan Hembram, a Santhali author-composer from Odisha; senior journalist Kailash Chandra Pant, who has been working for over 60 years to propagate Hindi across India; Kashmiri literateur Shafi Shauq; and Naresh Chandra Debbarma from Tripura, who works to promote the state’s Kokborok language.
Among the other recipients are Chiranji Lal Yadav from Moradabad, an expert in intricate brass engraving work; bronze art sculptor Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar from Tamil Nadu; Tripti Mukherjee from West Bengal, who teaches Kantha embroidery art to local women; and Khem Raj Sundriyal from Haryana, who teaches Jamdani weaving technique to thousands of artisans.
Ninety-two-year-old environmentalist Kollakkayil Devaki Amma G from Kerala; Hally War, who nurtured traditional afforestation techniques of the Khasi people in Meghalaya; and Mohan Nagar from Madhya Pradesh, who built over 75,000 water structures, have also been named for the prestigious award.
Also making it to the list are agriculture innovator from Maharashtra, Shrirang Devba Lad, who developed the 'Dada Lad' cotton farming technique; Odisha's Mahendra Kumar Mishra for recording and protecting tribal voices; social worker Nilesh Vinodchandra Mandlewala from Gujarat, the founder of Donate Life; and Raghupat Singh from Uttar Pradesh for innovations to make farming more profitable.
Maharashtra's 'Tamasha' artiste Raghuveer Tukaram Khedkar has been awarded for creating awareness about drug addiction, Telangana's Rama Reddy Mamidi for pioneering cooperative-led growth in the animal husbandry and dairy sector, while Karnataka's S G Susheelamma has been chosen for her life-long work to empower women and children through the Sumangali Seva Ashrama.
