A Night Of Legends And Hidden Gems As President Murmu Confers 66 Padma Honours

Ashik Bothra - Mumbai Bureau May 26, 2026 1,350 Views

President Droupadi Murmu has presented 66 Padma awards during the first civil investiture ceremony of 2026 at Rashtrapati Bhavan's Ganatantra Mandap, recognizing outstanding achievements in various fields such as arts, public service, sports, business, and social work. This is the first of 131 Padma awards this year, the rest of which will be presented at a second ceremony.

Held in the presence of Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other dignitaries, the ceremony showcased India’s “People’s Padma” vision by spotlighting both celebrated icons and unsung heroes. The investiture started with the rendition of Vande Mataram and the national anthem, which was formal and ceremonial in nature.

This year's Honours were broken up as follows:

The President has approved 131 Padma awards for 2026, comprising five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. She bestowed two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri awards in the ceremony on Monday, making her the first of the 66 awardees to appear on the stage.

Notable Names In The Spotlight

Late Bollywood legend Dharmendra and classical violinist N Rajam, who were both awarded the Padma Vibhushan, were among the top recipients. Uday Kotak, Piyush Pandey (posthumous), Bhagat Singh Koshyari and other distinguished personalities from the fields of finance, politics, medicine and literature were included in the Padma Bhushan list.

Celebrating Unsung Heroes

In addition to the marquee names, the Padma Shri category once again celebrated the grassroots changemakers, ranging from environmentalists to educators, sportspersons to traditional arts practitioners. The government's emphasis on inclusive recognition was emphasized by the fact that 45 “unsung” people are included among this year's Padma awardees, officials said.

Key Highlights

President Murmu awards 66 Padma awards at Civil Investiture Ceremony I at Rashtrapati Bhavan
The list of today's tranche comprises 2 Padma Vibhushan, 6 Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri awardees.
A total of 131 Padma awards have been approved for 2026, and the second ceremony to award the remaining awardees will be held later.
Some of the top honourees are Dharmendra (posthumous), N Rajam, Uday Kotak, Piyush Pandey and Harmanpreet Kaur.