President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Padma Awards 2026 on several distinguished personalities from fields such as cinema, sports, public affairs, banking, literature, and arts.
The awards ceremony recognised outstanding contributions to the nation across diverse sectors.
Dharmendra Awarded Padma Vibhushan Posthumously
Veteran actor Dharmendra was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan posthumously in the field of art.
His wife and actor Hema Malini received the award on his behalf.
The government described Dharmendra as one of the most versatile and successful actors in Hindi cinema, with a career spanning over 300 films.
Other Padma Vibhushan Awardees
Notable personalities honoured with the Padma Vibhushan included:
- N Rajam — for contribution to Indian classical music
- K T Thomas — for public affairs and judiciary
- P Narayanan — for literature and education
- V S Achuthanandan — posthumously for public affairs
Padma Bhushan Recipients
The Padma Bhushan awardees included:
- Uday Kotak — Trade and Industry
- Bhagat Singh Koshyari — Public Affairs
- Piyush Pandey — posthumously in Art
- Alka Yagnik — Music
- Mammootty — Cinema
- Vijay Amritraj — Sports
The government noted that Piyush Pandey elevated Indian advertising globally and created iconic campaigns such as “Mile Sur Mera Tumhara”.
Harmanpreet Kaur Receives Padma Shri
Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri in the sports category.
The government praised her leadership and contribution to Indian women’s cricket, calling her one of the most impactful cricketers of her generation.
Other notable Padma Shri recipients included:
- Rohit Sharma
- Prosenjit Chatterjee
- Savita Punia
- Sivasankari
Total Awards Announced
The Centre had announced 131 Padma Awards on the eve of Republic Day 2026, including:
- 5 Padma Vibhushan
- 13 Padma Bhushan
- 113 Padma Shri awards
The list featured:
- 19 women awardees
- 6 recipients from foreigner/NRI/PIO/OCI categories
- 16 posthumous honours