Padma awards 2026 announced; Mammootty among Padma Bhushan recipients

The Union Government on Monday announced the Padma Awards for 2026, honouring distinguished personalities across various fields.
A total of 131 people have been selected, including five for Padma Vibhushan, 13 for Padma Bhushan and 113 for Padma Shri.
The Padma Vibhushan award has been announced for veteran actor Dharmendra, former Supreme Court judge Justice K. T. Thomas, scholar P. Narayanan, former Kerala Chief Minister V. S. Achuthanandan and renowned Hindustani classical violinist Dr N. Rajam. Among the Padma Bhushan recipients is acclaimed Malayalam actor Mammootty.
Others selected for the award include former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren, playback singer Alka Yagnik, social worker S. K. M. Mayilanandan from Tamil Nadu, medical professional Kallipatti Ramasamy from Tamil Nadu, former Uttarakhand Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari, US-based physician Dr Nori Dattatreyudu, advertising professional Piyush Pandey, Kannada scholar Dr R. Ganesh, popularly known as Sadavadhani R Ganesh, industrialist Uday Kotak, educationist V. K. Malhotra (posthumously), social activist Vellappally Natesan from Kerala and former tennis player Vijay Amritraj.
Thirteen awardees from Tamil Nadu have been selected across categories. Padma Bhushan recipients from the State are Kallipatti Ramasamy in the field of medicine and S. K. M. Mayilanandan for social service.
Padma Shri awardees from Tamil Nadu include Gayathri Balasubramanian and Ranjani Balasubramanian in the arts, Dr H. V. Hande in medicine, Ramasamy in science and engineering, K. Vijayakumar in civil services, Thiruttani Swaminathan (Oduvar) in the arts, Punniyamoorthy Nadesan in medicine, late painter R. Krishnan in the arts, Rajasthapathi Kaliyappa Gounder in the arts, V. Kamakoti, Director of IIT Madras, in science and engineering, Sivashankar in literature and education, and Thiruvarur Bhakthavachalam in the arts.
Separately, astronaut Subhanshu Shukla has been announced as a recipient of the Ashoka Chakra, while three Army personnel have been awarded the Kirti Chakra.