Padma Awards 2026! President Murmu Confers Prestigious Honours at Rashtrapati Bhavan Ceremony

The evening air at Rashtrapati Bhavan carried a singular weight on Sunday, the weight of lives lived with purpose, of decades spent in quiet service, of legacies that have shaped the soul of a nation. To the solemn notes of “Vande Mataram” and then “Jana Gana Mana,” the first Civil Investiture Ceremony of 2026 got underway at the Ganatantra Mandap , as President Droupadi Murmu took her place at the centre of India’s most prestigious civilian honours. Seated before her in the grand hall were Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan , Prime Minister Narendra Modi , and Union Home Minister Amit Shah , a gathering of the country’s highest constitutional offices, united to salute its finest.

This year, President Murmu approved 131 Padma Awards in total, five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri, continuing the tradition of recognising ordinary Indians who have made extraordinary contributions to their respective fields. Among the awardees, 19 are women, 16 are being honoured posthumously, and six are foreigners or NRIs/PIOs/OCIs. Notably, 45 of the honourees are unsung heroes working among tribal, marginalised, and remote communities, many of them dedicating their lives far from the spotlight. On Sunday, 66 of these 131 recipients were honoured in the first phase; the rest will follow at a second ceremony to be scheduled later.

The single most powerful moment of the evening came when a woman dressed in powder-pink walked to the dais to receive an award that was not hers alone to carry. Veteran actress and Member of Parliament Hema Malini accepted the posthumous Padma Vibhushan on behalf of her late husband Dharmendra Deol , who passed away in November 2025 at the age of 89, having contributed to Indian cinema across more than six decades. Popularly known as the “He-Man” of Bollywood, Dharmendra acted in more than 300 films, and his memorable performances in classics such as Bandini , Satyakam , and Sholay remain etched in India’s collective memory. He also served as a Member of Parliament from Bikaner between 2004 and 2009. As Hema Malini stepped forward, cameras captured their daughter Ahana Deol in the audience, visibly in tears, the grief of a family indistinguishable from the emotion of an entire country that grew up watching a legend. The moment drew sustained applause.

The second Padma Vibhushan of the evening went to a woman who has spent a lifetime making the violin sing like the human voice. Dr N. Rajam , known the world over as the “Singing Violin,” was recognised for pioneering the Gayaki Ang style of violin playing, which recreates the nuances of vocal music on the instrument. Born in Ernakulam in 1939, she trained under masters of both Carnatic and Hindustani traditions, built a celebrated academic career at Banaras Hindu University , and had previously received the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Sangeet Natak Akademi honours. The Padma Vibhushan now crowns a life’s work that has altered the landscape of Indian classical music.

The Padma Bhushan citations read like a cross-section of modern India’s finest minds and most steadfast public servants. Scholar and Avadhana exponent R. Ganesh was honoured for reviving the ancient literary performance art of Avadhana in Kannada and Sanskrit, having performed over 1,300 Ashtavadhanas and several Shatavadhanas, preserving a form of intellectual art that demands extraordinary memory and creativity.

Uday Kotak , founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, was recognised for transforming a modest finance company founded in 1985 into one of India’s leading private banking institutions, while also emerging as one of the country’s strongest voices on corporate governance and financial reform.

Bhagat Singh Koshyari , widely known as “Bhagat Da,” was honoured for a lifetime of service in education and rural development, having served as teacher, Chief Minister, Member of Parliament, and Governor of Maharashtra, while working to expand educational access in remote Himalayan regions.

Dr. K. R. S. Palaniswamy , an eminent gastroenterologist from Tamil Nadu, was recognised for four decades of medical service, advanced research, and rural healthcare outreach that brought treatment and dignity to underserved communities.

Advertising pioneer Piyush Pandey , creator of iconic campaigns such as Mile Sur Mera Tumhara and Do Boond Zindagi Ki , was awarded the Padma Bhushan posthumously, with his wife Nita Pandey accepting the honour.

Veteran politician Vijay Kumar Malhotra , born in pre-Partition Lahore, was also honoured posthumously for his decades of service in public life and sports administration.

Malayalam superstar Mammootty , who had earlier received the Padma Shri in 1998, was elevated to the Padma Bhushan, while celebrated playback singer Alka Yagnik was similarly honoured for her decades-long contribution to Indian music.

The Padma Shri category offered the ceremony’s most diverse portrait of achievement. Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur , para-athlete Praveen Kumar , actor Prosenjit Chatterjee , former CRPF Director General K. Vijay Kumar , tabla maestro Kumar Bose , and folk singer Bharat Singh Bharti were among those recognised.

Forest scientist Devaki Amma , former Tamil Nadu health minister H. V. Hande , social worker Janardan Bapurao Bothe , actor R. Madhavan , and veteran actor Satish Shah (posthumous) were also honoured.

From Odisha, linguist and folklorist Dr Mahendra Kumar Mishra received the Padma Shri for over four decades of work preserving endangered tribal languages and integrating oral traditions and indigenous knowledge systems into mainstream education. He was also the first Indian to receive the UNESCO International Mother Language Award in 2003.

Sportspersons including Rohit Sharma , Savita Punia , Harmanpreet Kaur , Praveen Kumar , Baldev Singh , and K. Pajanivel were recognised for achievements across cricket, hockey, and traditional martial arts.

The full Padma Vibhushan list for 2026 also includes former Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan and Justice K. T. Thomas in Public Affairs, along with P. Narayanan in Literature and Education, both posthumously.

The Padma Bhushan list further includes tennis legend Vijay Amritraj , former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren (posthumously), and Kerala community leader Vellappally Natesan .

When the final medal was pinned and the national anthem faded into the evening at Rashtrapati Bhavan, what lingered was not the pageantry but the extraordinary ordinariness of those being honoured, doctors from farming villages, folk singers from forgotten districts, violinists who turned an instrument into a human voice, and a daughter who wept for a father the whole country loved. India, it turns out, is as wide and as deep as the people it honours.

The second phase of the Civil Investiture Ceremony, which will include the remaining 65 awardees, is to be held at a date yet to be announced.