New Delhi- Veteran actor Dharmendra and senior Left leader and former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan have been conferred the Padma Vibhushan posthumously on the occasion of Republic Day 2026. Late Jharkhand Mukti Morcha founder and former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, singer Alka Yagnik, tennis great Vijay Amritraj, and Malayalam cinema icon Mammootty figure among the Padma Bhushan awardees.
President Droupadi Murmu has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards this year, including two duo cases that are counted as single awards, according to an official statement.
The list, announced on the eve of Republic Day, comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. Of the total recipients, 19 are women, six are foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI, and 16 honours are being given posthumously.
Other Padma Vibhushan recipients include former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas (Public Affairs), renowned classical violinist N. Rajam (Art), and P. Narayanan (Literature and Education).
Those awarded the Padma Bhushan include former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, US-based physician Dr Nori Dattatreyudu, late advertising doyen Piyush Pandey, industrialist Uday Kotak, veteran BJP leader and former MP V.K. Malhotra, and SNDP Yogam general secretary and prominent Kerala community leader Vellappally Natesan.
Among the Padma Shri awardees are India women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, former India men’s captain Rohit Sharma, former UGC Chairman and JNU Vice-Chancellor Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, veteran actor Satish Shah (posthumous), women’s hockey goalkeeper Savita Punia, and Tollywood stalwart Prosenjit Chatterjee, among others.
The Padma Awards are conferred in three categories—Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri—across a wide range of disciplines including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil services. The Padma Vibhushan recognises exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan honours distinguished service of a high order, and the Padma Shri acknowledges distinguished service in any field.
— IANS