President Murmu Confers Padma Awards 2026; Dishom Guru Shibu Soren awarded Padma Bhushan posthumously
New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu on Monday conferred Padma Awards on 66 distinguished personalities during the first Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, recognising exceptional contributions across arts, public affairs, sports, medicine, and industry.
Among the biggest highlights of the ceremony was the posthumous conferment of the prestigious Padma Vibhushan on legendary Bollywood actor Dharmendra for his contribution to Indian cinema. The award was received by actor and BJP MP Hema Malini on his behalf. Renowned violin maestro N. Rajam was also honoured with the Padma Vibhushan for her immense contribution to Indian classical music.
President Droupadi Murmu presented Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Awards for the year 2026 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I held at Rashtrapati Bhavan pic.twitter.com/NO5QL7AwT4
— President of India (@rashtrapatibhvn) May 25, 2026
Six eminent personalities received the Padma Bhushan, including former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari for public affairs, industrialist Uday Kotak for trade and industry, and Dr. Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaiswamy for medicine. Scholar and artist Dr. R. Ganesh was also among the recipients.
The Padma Shri awards were presented to 58 personalities, including Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur for her contribution to sports. Other awardees included Taga Ram Bheel, Ratilal Mohanlal Borisagar, Swami Brahmdev, and Kumar Bose.
Honouring excellence and extraordinary service to the nation. 🇮🇳
The Padma Awards 2026 will be conferred today at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-I at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.#PadmaAwards2026 #PeoplesPadma pic.twitter.com/yyUBhYYdfL
— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) May 25, 2026
The ceremony was attended by Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and several senior dignitaries.
For 2026, the government has approved 131 Padma Awards, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri honours. The remaining recipients will be honoured in the second phase of the investiture ceremony later this year.
