25 January,2026 10:13 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Padma Awards 2026 winners
The Centre on Sunday announced the Padma Awards for 2026, approving 131 civilian honours across the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri categories. The list includes several prominent names from public life. Among the notable names, late actors Dharmendra and Satish Shah will be posthumously honoured with the Padma Awards. While Dharmendra will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, Satish Shah will be honoured with the Padma Shri.
The late actors Dharmendra and Satish Shah will be posthumously honoured with the Padma Awards. While Dharmendra will be conferred with the Padma Vibhushan, Satish Shah will be honoured with the Padma Shri.
Malayalam cinema legend Mammootty will also be lionised with the Padma Bhushan. Veteran playback singer Alka Yagnik and the late advertising legend Piyush Pandey have also been selected for the Padma Bhushan. R. Madhavan and Bengali cinema legend Prosenjit Chatterjee have also been named Padma Shri awardees.
Both Dharmendra and Satish Shah passed away last year. Dharmendra left for his heavenly abode in November, while Satish Shah departed a month prior to Dharmendra.
Veteran actress Hema Malini has expressed her gratitude to the Government of India for conferring the Padma Vibhushan award to her late husband, Dharmendra. On Sunday, the veteran actress took to X, formerly Twitter, and wrote, "So so proud that the government has recognised Dharam ji's immense contribution to the film industry by bestowing on him the prestigious Padma Vibhushan award."
Talking about the awards, they recognize excellence across various disciplines, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service. Announced annually on the occasion of Republic Day, the President has approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri.
Ninety awardees are women, and the list includes six persons from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO, and OCI, and 16 posthumous awardees, it said. Tennis legend Vijay Amritraj has been awarded the Padma Bhushan; cricketer Rohit Sharma, women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, and hockey player Savita Punia have been awarded the Padma Shri, the statement said.
