President Murmu to Confer National Teachers’ Awards on 21 Higher Education Faculty

President Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Awards to Teachers (NAT) 2026 on 21 teachers and faculty members from higher education institutions and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on September 5. The awards recognise educators whose contributions span engineering, sciences, medicine, management, humanities and technical education, while highlighting the importance of quality teaching across India’s education system.

This year, 12 teachers/faculty members from central higher education institutions, five from state universities and colleges - three government and two private - and four from polytechnics, including two government and two private institutions, have been selected. The broad representation comes amid continuing concerns over the affordability of education, with government institutions remaining an important pathway for students seeking quality education without the higher costs associated with many private institutions.

The 21 awardees include faculty from some of India’s leading institutions. Prof. Avlokita Agrawal of IIT Roorkee has been recognised for Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment; Prof. Kirti Chandra Sahu of IIT Hyderabad and Dr Mithun Radhakrishna of IIT Gandhinagar for Chemical Engineering; Prof. Vinay Chamola of BITS Pilani for Electricals and Electronics Engineering; Dr Srikant Gollapudi of IIT Bhubaneswar for Metallurgy and Materials Science; Prof. Sourav Datta of IISER Bhopal for Plant Sciences; Prof. Vikram Vishal of IIT Bombay for Earth Sciences; and Prof. Sankar Prasad Rath of IIT Kanpur for Chemical Sciences.

Other awardees represent Forensic Pharmacy and Food Forensics, Biochemistry, Paediatrics, Manipuri Dance, Management, Mass Communication, Sanskrit, and Physical Education and Yoga Education. They include Prof. Sarvaiya Jayrajsinh Indrajitsinh, Dr Manisha Nigam, Dr Amar Mohanrao Taksande, Dr Arun Babu, Dr Pukhrambam Lilabati Devi, Prof. Dr Ashutosh Mohan, Prof. Ankuran Dutta, Ms Shivani V. and Prof. Rajeev Choudhary.

Four polytechnic faculty members have also been selected: Dr Vishwanatha H. S. for Civil Engineering, Dr Sasikala S. for Electrical and Electronics Engineering, Dr Kannan Rathinam for Physics and Dr Sandipann Pralhad Narote for Electronics Engineering and Telecommunication.

Nominations were invited online through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal from May 26 to July 20, 2026, allowing self, institutional and peer nominations under Jan Bhagidari. Selection considered teaching-learning effectiveness, outreach, research and innovation, sponsored research, faculty development and consultancy through a two-stage process involving a Preliminary Search-cum-Screening Committee and a Committee of Jury.

The inclusion of HEI and polytechnic faculty dates to 2023, when the government expanded the awards beyond school teachers in line with the National Education Policy 2020.