Padma Awards 2026: Dharmendra, V S Achuthanandan, Rohit Sharma among 131 honoured across categories

Five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards announced, recognising achievers from arts, sports, public life and grassroots service

Updated on:

25 Jan 2026, 1:23 pm

2 min read

The Centre on Sunday announced the Padma Awards for 2026, approving 131 civilian honours across the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri categories. The list includes five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awardees, cutting across public life, arts, cinema, literature, sports, science and social service.

Among those chosen for the Padma Vibhushan, the country’s second-highest civilian award, are veteran actor Dharmendra Singh Deol (posthumous), former Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan (posthumous), classical violinist N Rajam, former Supreme Court judge K T Thomas and noted writer P Narayanan. The award recognises exceptional and distinguished service.

The Padma Bhushan list features several prominent personalities, including singer Alka Yagnik, actor Mammootty, industrialist Uday Kotak, former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, advertising veteran Piyush Pandey (posthumous), social leader Vellappally Natesan and tennis icon Vijay Amritraj. The Padma Bhushan honours distinguished service of a high order.

The Padma Shri list for 2026 reflects a wide mix of nationally recognised figures and grassroots contributors. In sports, Indian cricket team captains Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar has been awarded the Padma Shri, along with women’s hockey player Savita Punia The arts list includes actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, classical vocalist Tripti Mukherjee and folk and traditional artists such as Tarun Bhattacharya and Pokhila Lekthepi.

The awards also recognise several “unsung heroes” for their contributions to social work, indigenous art forms, healthcare, education and heritage preservation across the country. This year’s list includes 19 women awardees, six foreigners or persons of Indian origin abroad, and 16 posthumous honours.

The Padma Awards are announced annually on the occasion of Republic Day and are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April.