Padma Awards: 139 eminent personalities, unsung heroes chosen for 2025

Late MT Vasudevan Nair, Tamil star Ajith Kumar, actor Shobana Chandrakumar, Indian hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, and Osamu Suzuki, are among the prominent personalities receiving the Padma Awards.
Padma Awards: 139 eminent personalities, unsung heroes chosen for 2025
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NEW DELHI: The government on Saturday announced the names of 139 eminent individuals selected for the Padma Awards for 2025. Among them, Osamu Suzuki, the former CEO of Suzuki Motors known for bringing the people's car to India, and renowned folk singer Sharda Sinha were listed among seven distinguished personalities to receive the Padma Vibhushan, the second-highest civilian award.

Others conferred the Padma Vibhushan include Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy for medicine from Telangana, Justice (Retd) Jagdish Singh Khehar for public affairs from Chandigarh, Kaumudini Rajnikant Lakhia for art from Gujarat, Lakshminarayana Subramaniam for art from Karnataka, and the late M.T. Vasudevan Nair for literature and education from Kerala.

Nineteen individuals were announced as recipients of the Padma Bhushan award. Notable among them are the late BJP leader from Bihar Sushil Kumar Modi and Shiv Sena leader from Maharashtra Manohar Joshi. Celebrated filmmaker Shekhar Kapur of Bandit Queen fame, ace Indian hockey goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, noted economist Bibek Debroy, the late ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas, and former chairman of Prasar Bharati A. Surya Prakash are also on the list of Padma Bhushan awardees.

Sadhvi Ritambhara, who rose to prominence during the Ram Janmabhoomi movement led by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in the 1990s, has also been awarded the Padma Bhushan, according to the list released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Saturday evening.

In the list of 113 recipients of the Padma Shri award, many unsung heroes have been recognised. Prominent among them are Libia Lobo Sardesai, a 100-year-old freedom fighter from Goa who played a pivotal role in the state's freedom movement; Gokul Chandra Dey, a 57-year-old Dhak player from West Bengal who broke gender stereotypes by training 150 women in a traditionally male-dominated field; and Dr Neerja Bhatla, a gynaecologist from Delhi specialising in cervical cancer detection, prevention, and management.

Sardesai co-founded an underground radio station, Voz da Liberdade (Voice of Freedom), in a forested area in 1955 to rally people against Portuguese rule in Goa.

Dey created a lightweight Dhak, reducing its weight by 1.5 kg compared to conventional instruments. He represented India at various international platforms and performed with maestros such as Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain.

The Padma Awards are given in three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (for distinguished service of a higher order), and Padma Shri (for distinguished service). These awards recognise achievements in various fields or disciplines that involve an element of public service.

The awards are conferred based on recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister each year.

The Padma Awards for 2025 include 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri recipients. Among the awardees, 23 are women, while 10 individuals are from the Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI category. Additionally, 13 awards have been conferred posthumously.

Here is the full list of all 139 Padma Awardees for 2025:

Padma Vibhushan

  1. Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy, Medicine

  2. Justice (Retd.) Shri Jagdish Singh Khehar, Public Affairs

  3. Smt. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia, Art

  4. Shri Lakshminarayana Subramaniam, Art

  5. Shri MT Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous), Literature and Education

  6. Shri Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous), Trade and Industry

  7. Smt. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous), Art

Padma Bhushan

  1. Shri A Surya Prakash, Literature and Education - Journalism

  2. Shri Anant Nag, Art

  3. Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous), Literature and Education

  4. Shri Jatin Goswami, Art

  5. Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram, Medicine

  6. Shri Kailash Nath Dikshit, Archaeology

  7. Shri Manohar Joshi (Posthumous), Public Affairs

  8. Shri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti, Trade and Industry

  9. Shri Nandamuri Balakrishna, Art

  10. Shri PR Sreejesh, Sports

  11. Shri Pankaj Patel, Trade and Industry

  12. Shri Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous), Art

  13. Shri Rambahadur Rai, Literature and Education - Journalism

  14. Sadhvi Ritambhara, Social Work

  15. Shri S Ajith Kumar, Art

  16. Shri Shekhar Kapur, Art

  17. Ms. Shobana Chandrakumar, Art

  18. Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous), Public Affairs

  19. Shri Vinod Dham, Science and Engineering

Padma Shri

  1. Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak, Art

  2. Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav, Art

  3. Shri Ajay V Bhatt, Science and Engineering

  4. Shri Anil Kumar Boro, Literature and Education

  5. Shri Arijit Singh, Art

  6. Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya, Trade and Industry

  7. Shri Arunoday Saha, Literature and Education

  8. Shri Arvind Sharma, Literature and Education

  9. Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra, Medicine

  10. Shri Ashok Laxman Saraf, Art

  11. Shri Ashutosh Sharma, Science and Engineering

  12. Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande, Art

  13. Shri Baijnath Maharaj, Spiritualism

  14. Shri Barry Godfray John, Art

  15. Smt. Begam Batool, Art

  16. Shri Bharat Gupt, Art

  17. Shri Bheru Singh Chouhan, Art

  18. Shri Bhim Singh Bhavesh, Social Work

  19. Smt. Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara, Art

  20. Shri Budhendra Kumar Jain, Medicine

  21. Shri CS Vaidyanathan, Public Affairs

  22. Shri Chaitram Deochand Pawar, Social Work

  23. Shri Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous), Literature and Education

  24. Shri Chandrakant Sompura, Architecture

  25. Shri Chetan E Chitnis, Science and Engineering

  26. Shri David R Syiemlieh, Literature and Education

  27. Shri Durga Charan Ranbir, Art

  28. Shri Farooq Ahmad Mir, Art

  29. Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid, Literature and Education

  30. Smt. Gita Upadhyay, Literature and Education

  31. Shri Gokul Chandra Das, Art

  32. Shri Guruvayur Dorai, Art

  33. Shri Harchandan Singh Bhatty, Art

  34. Shri Hariman Sharma, Agriculture

  35. Shri Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale, Art

  36. Shri Harvinder Singh, Sports

  37. Shri Hassan Raghu, Art

  38. Shri Hemant Kumar, Medicine

  39. Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit, Literature and Education

  40. Shri Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous), Literature and Education

  41. Shri Inivalappil Mani Vijayan, Sports

  42. Shri Jagadish Joshila, Literature and Education

  43. Smt. Jaspinder Narula, Art

  44. Shri Jonas Masetti, Spiritualism

  45. Shri Joynacharan Bathari, Art

  46. Smt. Jumde Yomgam Gamlin, Social Work

  47. Shri K. Damodaran, Culinary

  48. Shri K L Krishna, Literature and Education

  49. Smt. K Omanakutty Amma, Art

  50. Shri Kishore Kunal (Posthumous), Civil Service

  51. Shri L Hangthing, Agriculture

  52. Shri Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer, Literature and Education - Journalism

  53. Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra, Literature and Education

  54. Shri Lama Lobzang (Posthumous), Spiritualism

  55. Smt. Libia Lobo Sardesai, Social Work

  56. Shri MD Srinivas, Science and Engineering

  57. Shri Madugula Nagaphani Sarma, Art

  58. Shri Mahabir Nayak, Art

  59. Smt. Mamata Shankar, Art

  60. Shri Manda Krishna Madiga, Public Affairs

  61. Shri Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli, Literature and Education

  62. Shri Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous), Art

  63. Shri Nagendra Nath Roy, Literature and Education

  64. Shri Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous), Public Affairs

  65. Shri Naren Gurung, Art

  66. Smt. Neerja Bhatla, Medicine

  67. Smt. Nirmala Devi, Art

  68. Shri Nitin Nohria, Literature and Education

  69. Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa, Trade and Industry

  70. Shri P Datchanamoorthy, Art

  71. Shri Pandi Ram Mandavi, Art

  72. Shri Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai, Art

  73. Shri Pawan Goenka, Trade and Industry

  74. Shri Prashanth Prakash, Trade and Industry

  75. Smt. Pratibha Satpathy, Literature and Education

  76. Shri Purisai Kannappa Sambandan, Art

  77. Shri R Ashwin, Sports

  78. Shri R G Chandramogan, Trade and Industry

  79. Smt. Radha Bahin Bhatt, Social Work

  80. Shri Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy, Art

  81. Shri Ramdarash Mishra, Literature and Education

  82. Shri Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar, Art

  83. Shri Ratan Kumar Parimoo, Art

  84. Shri Reba Kanta Mahanta, Art

  85. Shri Renthlei Lalrawna, Literature and Education

  86. Shri Ricky Gyan Kej, Art

  87. Shri Sajjan Bhajanka, Trade and Industry

  88. Smt. Sally Holkar, Trade and Industry

  89. Shri Sant Ram Deswal, Literature and Education

  90. Shri Satyapal Singh, Sports

  91. Shri Seeni Viswanathan, Literature and Education

  92. Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan, Science and Engineering

  93. Smt. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Medicine

  94. Shri Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa), Literature and Education

  95. Shri Shyam Bihari Agrawal, Art

  96. Smt. Soniya Nityanand, Medicine

  97. Shri Stephen Knapp, Literature and Education

  98. Shri Subhash Khetulal Sharma, Agriculture

  99. Shri Suresh Harilal Soni, Social Work

  100. Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal, Science and Engineering

  101. Shri Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj), Spiritualism

  102. Shri Syed Ainul Hasan, Literature and Education

  103. Shri Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, Art

  104. Smt. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi, Art

  105. Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla, Literature and Education

  106. Shri Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi, Literature and Education

  107. Shri Vasudeo Kamath, Art

  108. Shri Velu Aasaan, Art

  109. Shri Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar, Art

  110. Shri Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj, Spiritualism

  111. Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane, Medicine

  112. Shri Vilas Dangre, Medicine

  113. Shri Vinayak Lohani, Social Work

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