Overview
- Five Padma Vibhushan were named, with actor Dharmendra and former Kerala chief minister V. S. Achuthanandan honoured posthumously alongside K. T. Thomas, N. Rajam and P. Narayanan.
- The 2026 list comprises five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, including two duo cases counted as single awards.
- Prominent recipients include Mammootty, Alka Yagnik, Vijay Amritraj and Uday Kotak, while Rohit Sharma and Harmanpreet Kaur receive Padma Shri in sports.
- Officials highlight about 45 Padma Shri for long-time ‘unsung heroes’, citing examples such as librarian Anke Gowda and neonatologist Armida Fernandes.
- The list features 16 posthumous and six foreign/NRI/PIO/OCI awardees, spans 84 districts across 30 states and UTs with ten first-time districts, and will be formally conferred at Rashtrapati Bhavan in the coming months.