On the eve of Republic Day, the Central Government on Sunday announced the Padma Awards for 2026, honouring individuals for their exceptional contributions across various fields.
This year’s list includes notable achievers from the Telugu states as well as several prominent national figures.
Gaddamanugu Chandramouli, Krishnamurthy Balasubramanian, and Kumaraswamy Thangaraj have been awarded Padma Shri in Science and Technology. G Venkat Rao and Palkonda Vijayanand Reddy (Medicine ), Mamidi Rama Reddy (Animal Husbandry), Mamidala Jagadish Kumar, Vempati Shashi Shekhar, and Vempati Kutumba Shastri ( Education and Literature), Deepika Reddy, Murali Mohan, Rajendra Prasad, and Garimella Balakrishna have also been awarded Padma Shri in the field of Arts.
Meanwhile, Bollywood veteran Dharmendra and former Kerala Chief Minister V S Achuthanandan have been conferred the Padma Vibhushan (posthumously), the country’s second-highest civilian award. The honour is given for “exceptional and distinguished service.”
The Padma Bhushan awards this year have gone to several well-known personalities, including actor Mammootty, former Jharkhand Chief Minister Shibu Soren (posthumously), advertising legend Piyush Pandey (posthumously), Uday Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank, singer Alka Yagnik, former tennis player Vijay Amritraj, and former Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari.
The Padma Awards continue to recognise excellence and lifelong service across science, arts, public service, sports and industry, celebrating contributions that have made a lasting impact on the nation.