Padma Awards 2026: Former UGC chairman, IIT Madras director win Padma Shri

The ministry of home affairs has announced the Padma Awards 2026, India’s highest civilian honours. IIT Madras Director V Kamakoti received the Padma Shri for Science and Engineering, and former UGC Chairman Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar got the Padma Shri for Literature and Education. Writer, journalist, and RSS leader P Narayanan, also called Narayanji, was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for Literature and Education.

A total of 18 people received awards in the ‘Literature and Education’ category, including one Padma Vibhushan awardee.

President Droupadi Murmu has approved 131 Padma Awards, including two duo cases, with each duo counted as one award. These include five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards.

The ministry has stated that 19 of the award recipients are women. The list includes six persons from the category of foreigners, Non-Resident Indians (NRI), Person of Indian Origin (PIO), Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI), and 16 Posthumous awardees.

The awards are given in three categories—Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri—across various fields, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, and civil service.

“The Padma Vibhushan is given for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of high order, and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field,” the ministry said.

The Padma Awards are announced every year on Republic Day and are presented by the President of India at ceremonies held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April.

List of Padma Awards 2026

Here’s the list of Padma Awardees 2026 under the Literature and Education category.