NEW DELHI: Of the 131 Padma awards announced on the eve of Republic Day, as many as 38 eminent personalities from poll-bound Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Assam and Puducherry figure in the prestigious list.Three of the five Padma Vibhushan awards, the country’s second-highest civilian honour, have gone to personalities from Kerala, former Chief Minister and veteran communist leader V. S. Achuthanandan (posthumous), former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas, and Malayalam journalist P. Narayanan. Hindustani classical musician N. Rajam, who hails from Tamil Nadu but resides in Uttar Pradesh, was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan. Veteran actor and former BJP MP Dharmendra received the honour posthumously for his contribution to the arts. Five Padma Shri awards were conferred on personalities from Assam, while 11 awardees hailed from West Bengal, both states heading into elections. In the Padma Bhushan category, actor Mammootty and Vellappally Natesan from Kerala were honoured. Tamil Nadu was represented by K.R. Palaniswamy and S.K.M. Maeilanandhan among the 13 Padma Bhushan awardees. Overall, 90 awardees are women, while the list includes six foreigners, NRIs, PIOs and OCIs, and 16 posthumous honours. Among other Padma Bhushan recipients are playback singer Alka Yagnik, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari, banker Uday Kotak, advertising professional Piyush Pandey, JMM founder Shibu Soren (posthumous) and BJP leader V.K. Malhotra (posthumous). In the foreign category, tennis legend Vijay Amritraj and Nori Dattatreyudu from the United States received the Padma Bhushan, while Prateek Sharma was awarded the Padma Shri. Vladimer Mestvirishvili of Georgia (posthumous), Prof Lars-Christian Koch of Germany, and Russian Indologist Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova were also conferred the Padma Shri. Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated all the awardees, saying their excellence, dedication and service across diverse fields enrich the fabric of Indian society and continue to inspire generations. Cricketer Rohit Sharma, women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur, hockey player Savita Punia, former JNU vice-chancellor M. Jagadesh Kumar, former Prasar Bharati CEO Shashi Shekhar Vempati, actors R. Madhavan and Prosenjit Chatterjee, and comedian Satish Shah (posthumous) are among the Padma Shri recipients. Former CRPF director-general K. Vijay Kumar, who headed the Tamil Nadu STF that eliminated forest brigand Veerappan, was also awarded the Padma Shri. Of the 113 Padma Shri honours, two cases involve joint awards counted as one. Union home minister Amit Shah said the Padma awardees are torchbearers of social change whose achievements and commitment have driven national progress. He noted that the honours reflect the Prime Minister’s vision of making the Padma awards a “People’s Padma”. The list includes achievers from marginalised and deprived sections of society, embodying the spirit of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas. Nineteen inspirational women were recognised, including Mangala Kapoor, an acid-attack survivor who became a music scholar at Banaras Hindu University, and Armida Fernandes, a neonatologist who set up Asia’s first human milk bank. The awardees also feature Shubha Venkatesh Iyengar, an aerospace scientist working on nationwide fog-monitoring systems; Satyanarayanan Nuwal, a leading indigenous defence manufacturer; Ashok Khade, who rose from poverty to build an offshore fabrication enterprise; and plant geneticist P.L. Gautam. Padma awardees for 2026 represent 84 districts across 30 states and Union Territories, including 10 districts being represented for the first time since Independence, such as Mandya, Betul, Parbhani, Bageshwar, Ranga Reddy, Dakshin Dinajpur, Nuapada, Dantewada, Eluru and Deeg. The Padma Awards, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, are among the country’s highest civilian honours and are conferred annually on Republic Day for distinguished service in fields such as art, public affairs, science, medicine, literature, sports and civil service.
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गणतंत्र दिवस पर ऑपरेशन सिंदूर’ थीम पर लघु फिल्म प्रतियोगिता, 26 जनवरी पर सम्मानित होंगे विजेता
Republic Day : 77वें गणतंत्र दिवस के अवसर पर छत्रपति शाहू जी महाराज विश्वविद्यालय ने समारोह को खास…
