President Droupadi Murmu Confers Padma Awards

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu conferred Padma Vibhushan on Bollywood actor Dharmendra and classical musician and violinist N Rajam at the Civilian Induction Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on Monday. Dharmendra’s award for outstanding and distinguished service in the field of arts was received by his wife and MP Hema Malini.

Rajam was honored for his pioneering contributions to Indian classical music, particularly for revolutionizing violin performance through his ‘Gayaki Ang’ style of replicating vocal music on the instrument.

Murmu awarded Padma Bhushan to former Uttarakhand chief minister Bhagat Singh Koshyari; Shatavadhani R Ganesh, the acclaimed sage who revived the formidable classical Indian art form ‘Avadhana’; Uday Suresh Kumar Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank; and gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy.

He also gave the award posthumously to advertising guru Piyush Pandey and former parliamentarian Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Pandey’s wife and Malhotra’s son received the awards respectively.

Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, para-athlete Praveen Kumar and former Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) director general K Vijay Kumar received the Padma Shri.

The ceremony, held at the Gantantra Mandap of Rashtrapati Bhavan, began with an instrumental rendition of the national song “Vande Mataram”, followed by the reciting of the national anthem “Jana Gana Mana”. The meeting was attended by Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.

The President has approved the awarding of 131 Padma Awards for 2026, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri. The awards will be given at two separate Civil Investment ceremonies.

Padma Awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day.

Coveted civilian honors are awarded in a variety of fields, including the arts, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, commerce and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and public service.