President Droupadi Murmu Presents Padma Awards at Rashtrapati Bhavan

President Droupadi Murmu on Tuesday conferred the prestigious Padma Awards on several distinguished personalities during a grand civil investiture ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi. The honours recognised exceptional contributions across fields including arts, literature, sports, social work, public affairs, business and medicine.

The ceremony took place at the Ganatantra Mandap and was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Home Minister Amit Shah, Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan and several senior dignitaries.

Among the prominent recipients was veteran actor Dharmendra, who was honoured posthumously with the Padma Vibhushan for his immense contribution to Indian cinema. Renowned violinist N. Rajam was also conferred with the Padma Vibhushan for her achievements in classical music.

Other notable awardees included industrialist Uday Kotak and Bengali actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, who were recognised for their contributions in business and cinema respectively. Several artists, social workers, doctors, scholars and athletes from different parts of the country were also honoured during the event.

The Padma Awards, among India’s highest civilian honours, are presented annually in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The awards aim to recognise individuals who have made exceptional and distinguished contributions in their respective fields.

A total of 131 Padma Awards were announced for 2026. During the first phase of the investiture ceremony, 66 awardees received their honours from the President. The remaining recipients are expected to be honoured at a separate ceremony later this year.

Some other prominent personalities who received Padma Awards this year included:

• Mammootty — Padma Bhushan for contributions to Indian cinema
• Alka Yagnik — Padma Bhushan for contributions to music
• R. Madhavan — Padma Shri for contributions to cinema
• Harmanpreet Kaur — Padma Shri for achievements in cricket
• Vijay Amritraj — Padma Bhushan for contributions to sports
• Uday Kotak — Padma Bhushan for trade and industry
• Bhagat Singh Koshyari — Padma Bhushan for public affairs
• Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar — Padma Shri for education
• Satish Shah — honoured posthumously
• Piyush Pandey — Padma Bhushan posthumously for contributions to advertising and art
• Shibu Soren — Padma Bhushan posthumously for public affairs
• Rohit Sharma — Padma Shri for cricket
• N. Rajam — Padma Vibhushan for classical music
• V. S. Achuthanandan — Padma Vibhushan posthumously for public affairs
• K. T. Thomas — Padma Vibhushan for public affairs

The 2026 Padma Awards recognised 131 personalities from diverse fields including cinema, sports, music, literature, medicine, social work and public service.