- India
- May 26
President Murmu confers 66 Padma awards
• President Droupadi Murmu presented 66 Padma Awards for the year 2026 at a ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan on May 25.
• For 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma awards — five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri.
• At the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I on May 25, she conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri awards.
• The remaining Padma awardees will be conferred in the second round of the ceremony to be held later.
• Murmu conferred the Padma Bhushan on former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Shatavadhani R. Ganesh, acclaimed polymath who revived the challenging classical Indian art form ‘Avadhana’; Uday Suresh Kumar Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank; and gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy.
Padma Awards
• The Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian honours of India announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
The awards are given in three categories:
i) Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service).
ii) Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order).
iii) Padma Shri (distinguished service).
• The award seeks to recognise achievements in all fields of activities or disciplines where an element of public service is involved.
• The Padma Awards are conferred on the recommendations made by the Padma Awards Committee, which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. The nomination process is open to the public. Even self-nomination can be made.
When were the awards instituted?
• The government instituted two civilian awards — Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan in 1954.
• Padma Vibhushan had three classes namely Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg and Tisra Varg. These were subsequently renamed as Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
• The award seeks to recognise works of distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements / service in all fields of activities / disciplines.
The fields include:
i) Art (includes music, painting, sculpture, photography, cinema and theatre).
ii) Social Work (includes social service, charitable service and community projects).
iii) Public Affairs (includes law, public life and politics).
iv) Science & Engineering (includes space engineering, nuclear science, information technology and research & development).
v) Trade & Industry (includes banking, economic activities, management, promotion of tourism and business).
vi) Medicine (includes medical research, distinction / specialisation in Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha, Allopathy and Naturopathy).
vii) Literature & Education (includes journalism, teaching, book composing, literature, poetry, promotion of education and literacy, and education reforms).
viii) Civil Service (includes distinction / excellence in administration by government servants).
ix) Sports (includes popular sports, adventure, mountaineering and yoga).
x) Others (fields not covered above and may include propagation of Indian culture, protection of human rights, wildlife protection and conservation).
• The award is normally not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving cases, the government could consider giving an award posthumously.
• A higher category of Padma award can be conferred on a person only where a period of at least five years has elapsed since conferment of the earlier Padma award. However, in highly deserving cases, a relaxation can be made by the Awards Committee.
• The award does not amount to a title and cannot be used as a suffix or prefix to the awardees’ name.