Padma Awards

Padma Awards, three awards—Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri—that are among the highest civilian honors in India. The awards can be given for achievements in any field, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, civil services, and sports. To be nominated for a Padma Award, one’s activity should involve an element of public service. Nominations are open to the public, and self-nominations are allowed. Invitations for nominations are sent to all state and union territory governments of India, all federal government ministries and departments, Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awardees, and various institutes of excellence in the country. Nominations are submitted between May and September every year.

History

The government of India instituted the Padma Vibhushan, along with the Bharat Ratna, in 1954. The Padma Vibhushan had three classes, which were renamed in 1955 to Padma Shri (for “distinguished service”), the lowest of the three; Padma Bhushan (for “distinguished service of a high order”); and Padma Vibhushan (for “exceptional and distinguished service”), the highest Padma Award.

The Padma Awards, along with the Bharat Ratna, were suspended twice. The first time was in 1978, when Indian Prime Minister Morarji Desai’s government contended that the awards did not conform with Article 18 (Abolition of Titles) of the Indian Constitution, which states: “No title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State.” The awards were reinstated in January 1980, when former prime minister Indira Gandhi returned to office. The awards were suspended again between 1992 and 1997, following litigation that questioned their constitutional validity, again citing Article 18, and were reinstated after the Supreme Court ruled that the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Awards are not titles as defined by Article 18 of the Constitution of India and that they are national in character.

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The Padma Awards Committee

Each year, awardees are selected by a committee that is headed by the cabinet secretary of India and includes the home secretary, the secretary to the president, and four to six prominent persons. The committee submits its recommendations to the prime minister and the president of India for approval.

Award declaration and presentation

The Padma Awards are announced every year (except a few years when they were interrupted) on the eve of India’s Republic Day, January 26, and are presented by the president of India in March or April at an annual ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the official residence of the president. Honorees receive a certificate (sanad) signed by the president and a medallion. The names of the awardees are published in The Gazette of India (an official record of the government of India, published by the Department of Publications, part of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs) on the day of the ceremony. The total number of Padma Awards that may be given in a year should not exceed 120, excluding individuals awarded posthumously, non-resident Indians, foreigners, and overseas citizens of India. The awards are not titles and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to an awardee’s name.

2025 and 2026 Padma Awards

On January 25, 2025, the government declared 7 Padma Vibhushan Awards, 19 Padma Bhushan Awards, and 113 Padma Shri Awards for the year. The Padma Vibhushan awards for the year included three posthumous honors—for renowned Malayalam writer, screenwriter, and author M.T. Vasudevan Nair; former chair of Suzuki Motor Corp. Osamu Suzuki; and Bhojpuri and Maithili folk singer Sharda Sinha—and awards for renowned gastroenterologist D. Nageshwar Reddy, former chief justice of India Jagdish Singh Khehar, accomplished kathak dancer Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia, and violin maestro L. Subramaniam.

Among the 19 individuals chosen for the Padma Bhushan Award in 2025 were Indian film director Shekhar Kapur; renowned ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas (posthumous); Bibek Debroy (posthumous), economist and former chair of the economic advisory council to the prime minister; and Manohar Joshi (posthumous), former chief minister of Maharashtra state.

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The 2025 Padma Shri winners included popular Bollywood playback singer Arijit Singh, music composer and three-time Grammy winner Ricky Kej, 2024 Paris Paralympics archery gold medalist Harvinder Singh Dhanju, retired international cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin, entrepreneur and venture capitalist Prashanth Prakash, and cancer activist and oncologist Vijayalakshmi Deshamane.

For 2026, Pres. Droupadi Murmu approved 131 Padma Awards, which included 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri Awards. The Padma Vibhushan winners were:

• veteran Bollywood actor Dharmendra (posthumous)
• former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas
• renowned violinist N. Rajam
• writer and journalist P. Narayanan
• former Kerala chief minister V.S. Achuthanandhan (posthumous)

Malayalam cinema actor and producer Mammootty, Indian politician and Jharkhand Mukti Morcha cofounder Shibu Soren (posthumous), and International Tennis Hall of Fame inductee Vijay Amritraj were among those who were selected for the Padma Bhushan Award.

The Padma Shri winners for 2026 included many individuals from the fields of sports, literature, education, and scientific research, among others. Professional Indian cricket players Harmanpreet Kaur and Rohit Sharma, para athlete Praveen Kumar, and professional hockey player Savita Punia; former University Grants Commission (UGC) chairperson Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar; former Prasar Bharati (India’s public service broadcasting corporation) CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati; defense researcher A.E. Muthunayagam; and geneticist Kumarasamy Thangaraj were among the 113 people who were chosen for the Padma Shri Award.