Padma Awards 2026: Dharmendra and Achuthanandan Among 131 Honourees

The Indian government has announced the Padma Awards for 2026, honouring 131 individuals including Dharmendra and V S Achuthanandan with the Padma Vibhushan. The awards celebrate contributions in various fields, highlighting the achievements of women and international recipients.

India

-Krishna Kripa

Former
Kerala
Chief
Minister
V
S
Achuthanandan
and
actor
Dharmendra
are
among
those
posthumously
awarded
the
Padma
Vibhushan
for
2026,
as
announced
by
the
government.
The
announcement
on
Sunday
detailed
131
Padma
awards
for
the
year,
including
five
Padma
Vibhushan,
13
Padma
Bhushan,
and
113
Padma
Shri.
Two
of
these
awards
are
shared
by
pairs,
counted
as
one
each.

Among
the
Padma
Vibhushan
recipients
are
former
Supreme
Court
judge
KT
Thomas
for
public
affairs,
Hindustani
classical
musician
N
Rajam
in
art,
and
Malayalam
journalist
P
Narayanan
in
literature
and
education.
These
awards
highlight
contributions
across
diverse
fields.
Ninety
awardees
are
women,
with
six
from
categories
like
foreigners,
NRI,
PIO,
OCI,
and
16
posthumous
honorees.

Padma
Bhushan
Honours

The
Padma
Bhushan
has
been
conferred
upon
playback
singer
Alka
Yagnik,
former
Uttarakhand
Chief
Minister
Bhagat
Singh
Koshyari,
actor
Mammootty,
and
tennis
legend
Vijay
Amritraj.
Other
notable
recipients
include
banker
Uday
Kotak
and
Tamil
Nadu
gastroenterologist
Kallipatti
Ramasamy
Palaniswamy.
US-based
oncologist
Nori
Dattatreyudu
and
social
worker
SKM
Maeilanandhan
also
received
this
honour.

Avadhanam
bhajan
performer
Shatavadhani
R
Ganesh
and
SNDP
Yogam
General
Secretary
Vellappally
Natesan
were
also
awarded
the
Padma
Bhushan.
The
list
reflects
a
wide
array
of
achievements
across
various
sectors.
Senior
BJP
leader
VK
Malhotra
and
JMM
founder
Shibu
Soren
received
the
award
posthumously.

Padma
Shri
Recipients

The
Padma
Shri
honours
include
Indian
aerospace
scientist
Chandramouli
Gaddamanugu
for
his
work
on
the
Akash
Missile
system
and
ISRO
scientist
A
E
Muthunayagam
for
leading
cryogenic
propulsion
systems.
K
Vijay
Kumar,
former
CRPF
DG
known
for
his
role
in
eliminating
poacher
Veerappan,
was
also
recognised.

Community
radio
founder
Ramamurthy
Sreedher
and
Satyanarayan
Nuwal,
who
established
India’s
first
licensed
private
defence
company
for
indigenous
ammunition
manufacturing,
were
honoured
with
the
Padma
Shri.
Cricketer
Rohit
Sharma
and
women’s
cricket
captain
Harmanpreet
Kaur
were
recognised
for
their
contributions
to
Indian
cricket.

Hockey
players
Savita
Punia
and
Baldev
Singh,
along
with
para-athlete
Praveen
Kumar,
were
also
awarded
the
Padma
Shri.
Actors
R
Madhavan,
Prosenjit
Chatterjee,
Arvind
Vaidya
from
Sarabhai
Vs
Sarabhai,
Anil
Kumar
Rastogi,
and
Gadde
Babu
Rajendra
Prasad
were
honoured
as
well.

Diverse
Contributions
Recognised

Former
MHA
undersecretary
RVS
Mani,
former
JNU
VC
M
Jagadesh
Kumar,
and
former
Prasar
Bharati
CEO
Shashi
Shekhar
Vempati
received
the
Padma
Shri.
Archaeologist
Budha
Krishna
Mani
was
honoured
for
leading
excavations
in
Ayodhya
and
Sarnath.
These
awards
celebrate
significant
contributions
to
society.

Ashok
Khade
was
recognised
for
establishing
an
offshore
fabrication
company
despite
his
Dalit
cobbler
family
background.
Agriculture
scientist
Ashok
Kumar
Singh
developed
over
25
rice
varieties.
Dalit
author
Asok
Kumar
Haldar
was
honoured
for
his
inspiring
literature
while
working
as
a
railway
guard.

This
year’s
awards
reflect
a
broad
spectrum
of
achievements
across
various
fields
in
India.
The
recognition
of
these
individuals
underscores
their
significant
contributions
to
society
through
their
respective
professions.

With
inputs
from
PTI