Why in News
1.1 President approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards for 2026.
1.2 Approval given by Droupadi Murmu on the eve of Republic Day.

About Padma Awards
2.1 Among the highest civilian honours of India.
2.2 Conferred in three categories:
2.2.1 Padma Vibhushan.
2.2.2 Padma Bhushan.
2.2.3 Padma Shri.

Purpose and Fields Covered
3.1 Recognise distinguished service.
3.2 Fields include:
3.2.1 Art.
3.2.2 Social work.
3.2.3 Public affairs.
3.2.4 Science and engineering.
3.2.5 Trade and industry.
3.2.6 Medicine.
3.2.7 Literature and education.
3.2.8 Sports.
3.2.9 Civil service.

Criteria of Awards
4.1 Padma Vibhushan: Exceptional and distinguished service.
4.2 Padma Bhushan: Distinguished service of a high order.
4.3 Padma Shri: Distinguished service in any field.

Announcement and Conferment
5.1 Awards announced annually on Republic Day.
5.2 Conferred by the President of India.
5.3 Ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Padma Awards 2026 – Distribution
6.1 Padma Vibhushan: 5 awards.
6.2 Padma Bhushan: 13 awards.
6.3 Padma Shri: 113 awards.

Special Categories (2026)
7.1 Women awardees: 19.
7.2 Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI recipients: 6.
7.3 Posthumous awards: 16.
7.4 Duo cases: 2, counted as one award each.