President Droupadi Murmu confers 66 Padma Awards

President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Vibhushan posthumously on veteran actor Dharmendra, which is received on his behalf by BJP MP Hema Malini during a civic investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, May 25, 2026. | Photo credit: PTI

President Droupadi Murmu on Monday (May 25, 2026) conferred the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awards for the year 2026 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Dignitaries present on the occasion included Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. For this year, the President approved 131 Padma awards, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. They are announced every year on Republic Day.

Complete List of Padma Awards 2026

On Monday (May 25, 2026), the President conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri awards. She posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan to legendary Bollywood actor Dharmendra, who was accepted by his wife and MP Hema Malini; and violin virtuoso N. Rajam for outstanding contributions in their fields.

Ms. Rajam pioneered a revolutionary approach to classical music with the introduction of ‘Gayaki Ang’ – a technique that allows the violin to imitate human vocals – and gained global renown as the ‘Singing Violin’.

The Padma Bhushan was presented to former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Shatavadhani R. Ganesh who revived the classical art form ‘Avadhana’; Uday Suresh Kumar Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank; and noted gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy. The award was given posthumously to former MP Vijay Kumar Malhotra and ‘ad guru’ Piyush Pandey.

The remaining Padma awardees will be honored in the second round of the ceremony to be held at a later date.

Padma Shri recipients included Prosenjit Chatterjee, one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema; Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, an inspirational figure in Indian women’s cricket; para athlete Praveen Kumar; former Director General of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) K. Vijay Kumar; folk musician Mir Haji Kasam; Tamil devotional music artist N. Swaminathan; and Taga traditional folk artist Ram Bheel.

While master Silambam K. Pajanivel was honored for promoting the ancient art originating in Tamil Nadu, hockey coach Baldev Singh was honored for his outstanding service to Indian hockey for over four decades. “Kantha” embroidery artist Tripti Mukherjee, social worker Janardan Bapurao Bothe and husband-wife duo Dr. Ramchandra Godbole and Suneeta Godbole, who provided healthcare and social support to tribal communities, also received the Padma Shri.

Environmentalists Devaki Amma G. and Hally War; bibliophile Ankegowda M.; the Sanskrit scholar Vempaty Kutumba Shastry; and botanist Gambir Singh Yonzone were also among the Padma Shri recipients.

Published – 25 May 2026 17:46 IST