Source: News on Air
Context
The President of India, Smt. Droupadi Murmu, on Tuesday, 24 June 2026, conferred 65 Padma Awards at the Second Civil Investiture Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi. The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President C. P. Radhakrishnan, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, and other dignitaries. The Second Investiture Ceremony presented 2 Padma Vibhushan, 7 Padma Bhushan, and 56 Padma Shri awards — following the First Civil Investiture Ceremony on 26 May 2026 which conferred 66 awards. The President had announced 131 Padma Awards for 2026 on the eve of Republic Day (25 January 2026), comprising 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri honours (including 2 duo cases counted as one), with 19 women awardees, 16 posthumous honourees, and 6 foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI recipients. Notable awardees included Padma Vibhushan posthumously to Dharmendra Singh Deol (actor; received by wife Hema Malini at the first ceremony) and V S Achuthanandhan (former Kerala CM); Padma Bhushan to Mammootty (Malayalam cinema legend), Alka Yagnik (playback singer), Uday Kotak (banker), Vijay Amritraj (tennis), and posthumously to Shibu Soren (former Jharkhand CM) and Piyush Pandey (advertising); and Padma Shri to Rohit Sharma (cricket captain), R Madhavan (actor), and posthumously to Satish Shah (TV actor). The Padma Awards are India’s highest civilian honours, ranked immediately after the Bharat Ratna, instituted in 1954 and announced annually on Republic Day by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Complete Padma Vibhushan 2026 List (5 recipients)
| # | Name | Field | State / Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol (Posthumous) | Art (Cinema) | Maharashtra |
| 2 | Shri K T Thomas | Public Affairs (Law) | Kerala |
| 3 | Ms. N Rajam | Art (Violinist) | Uttar Pradesh |
| 4 | Shri P Narayanan | Literature and Education | Kerala |
| 5 | Shri V S Achuthanandhan (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Kerala |
Complete Padma Bhushan 2026 List (13 recipients)
| # | Name | Field | State / Country |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ms. Alka Yagnik | Art (Playback Singing) | Maharashtra |
| 2 | Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari | Public Affairs | Uttarakhand |
| 3 | Shri Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy | Medicine | Tamil Nadu |
| 4 | Shri Mammootty | Art (Cinema) | Kerala |
| 5 | Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu | Medicine (Oncology) | United States of America |
| 6 | Shri Piyush Pandey (Posthumous) | Art (Advertising) | Maharashtra |
| 7 | Shri S K M Maeilanandhan | Social Work | Tamil Nadu |
| 8 | Shri Shatavadhani R Ganesh | Art | Karnataka |
| 9 | Shri Shibu Soren (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Jharkhand |
| 10 | Shri Uday Kotak | Trade and Industry (Banking) | Maharashtra |
| 11 | Shri V K Malhotra (Posthumous) | Public Affairs | Delhi |
| 12 | Shri Vellappally Natesan | Public Affairs (Social Leadership) | Kerala |
| 13 | Shri Vijay Amritraj | Sports (Tennis) | United States of America |
Notable Padma Shri 2026 Recipients (113 in total)
| Recipient | Field | State |
|---|---|---|
| Shri Rohit Sharma | Sports (Cricket) | Maharashtra |
| Shri R Madhavan | Art (Cinema) | Maharashtra |
| Shri Satish Shah (Posthumous) | Art (TV) | Maharashtra |
| Ms. Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar | Sports (Cricket) | Punjab |
| Ms. Savita Punia | Sports (Hockey) | Haryana |
| Shri Anke Gowda M | Agriculture (Organic Farming) | Karnataka |
| Ms. Armida Fernandez | Medicine | Maharashtra |
| Ms. Deepika Reddy | Art (Kuchipudi) | Telangana |
| Ms. Kalamandalam Vimala | Art | Kerala |
| Shri A E Muthunayagam | Science and Engineering | Kerala |
| Shri Shashi Shekhar Vempati | Literature and Education | Karnataka |
| Ms. Sivasankari | Literature and Education | Tamil Nadu |
| Shri Ashok Khade | Trade and Industry | Maharashtra |
Padma Awards — Three Categories
| Category | Significance | Position in Civilian Awards |
|---|---|---|
| Padma Vibhushan | Exceptional and distinguished service | 2nd highest (after Bharat Ratna) |
| Padma Bhushan | Distinguished service of high order | 3rd highest |
| Padma Shri | Distinguished service in any field | 4th highest |
The Padma Awards System
- What: India’s highest civilian honours, ranked immediately after the Bharat Ratna; recognise exceptional and distinguished achievements or service across Art, Social Work, Public Affairs, Science and Engineering, Trade and Industry, Medicine, Literature and Education, Civil Service, Sports; announced annually on Republic Day; formally presented by the President of India at Civil Investiture Ceremony typically in March-April (sometimes May-June in recent years); NOT titles under Article 18(1) of the Constitution and cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to names.
- Where: Administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), New Delhi; announced through The Gazette of India; ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi.
Practice MCQs
Q1. With reference to the Padma Awards 2026, consider the following statements:
- A total of 131 Padma Awards were announced for 2026, including 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri.
- The awards were announced on the eve of Republic Day (25 January 2026).
- The list included 19 women, 16 posthumous awardees, and 6 foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI.
- The Padma Vibhushan 2026 was conferred on only 2 individuals.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the Padma Vibhushan 2026 was conferred on 5 individuals, NOT 2: Dharmendra (posthumous), K T Thomas, N Rajam, P Narayanan, and V S Achuthanandhan (posthumous).)
Q2. With reference to the Padma Vibhushan 2026 recipients, consider the following statements:
- Shri Dharmendra Singh Deol received the award posthumously for his contribution to art (cinema).
- Shri V S Achuthanandhan, former Chief Minister of Kerala, received the award posthumously for public affairs.
- Smt. N Rajam received the award for her contribution to art (violin).
- Shri P Narayanan was awarded for his contribution to sports.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; Shri P Narayanan was awarded for Literature and Education, NOT sports.)
Q3. With reference to the Padma Bhushan 2026 list, consider the following statements:
- Veteran Malayalam actor Mammootty received the Padma Bhushan for Art.
- Banker Uday Kotak (founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank) was awarded for Trade and Industry.
- Former Jharkhand CM Shibu Soren received the Padma Bhushan posthumously for Public Affairs.
- Cricketer Rohit Sharma received the Padma Bhushan for Sports.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; Rohit Sharma received the Padma SHRI (not Bhushan), the fourth-highest civilian award.)
Q4. With reference to the Padma Awards system in India, consider the following statements:
- The Padma Awards were instituted by the Government of India in 1954, alongside the Bharat Ratna.
- They were originally designated as Pahla Varg, Dusra Varg, and Tisra Varg.
- They were renamed to Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri via a Presidential Notification issued in January 1955.
- Padma Awards are titles under Article 18(1) of the Constitution and can be used as prefixes to names.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; Padma Awards are NOT titles under Article 18(1) and cannot be used as prefixes or suffixes to names — upheld by the Supreme Court in Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (1995).)
Q5. With reference to the Second Civil Investiture Ceremony of 2026, consider the following statements:
- It was held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 23-24 June 2026.
- President Droupadi Murmu conferred 65 Padma Awards at this ceremony.
- Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President C P Radhakrishnan, and Home Minister Amit Shah attended.
- The Second Investiture conferred all 131 Padma Awards in a single event.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the Second Investiture conferred 65 awards; the First Investiture (26 May 2026) conferred 66 awards — NOT all 131 in a single event.)
Q6. With reference to the historical and institutional details of the Padma Awards, consider the following statements:
- The Padma Awards have been suspended twice in their history — in 1977-80 and 1993-97.
- The Padma Awards Committee is constituted annually by the Prime Minister.
- The Padma Awards Committee is chaired by the Cabinet Secretary.
- The Padma Awards are administered by the Ministry of Culture.
How many of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only one (b) Only two (c) Only three (d) All four (e) None
(Statement 4 is wrong; the Padma Awards are administered by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), NOT the Ministry of Culture.)
Answer Key
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because Padma Vibhushan 2026 had 5 recipients.
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because P Narayanan was awarded for Literature and Education.
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because Rohit Sharma received Padma Shri.
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because Padma Awards are not titles.
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because 65 awards were given at the Second Investiture (not all 131).
- (c), Statements 1, 2, 3 are correct; Statement 4 is wrong because MHA (not Culture Ministry) administers Padma Awards.
