President Droupadi Murmu conferred Padma Awards to 71 distinguished personalities during the first phase of the ceremony held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. The awards included 4 Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, and 57 Padma Shri. The remaining winners will receive their honors in the next month. Among the notable recipients were former Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar, Sushil Kumar Modi, singer Pankaj Udhas, former Suzuki Motor chief Osamu Suzuki, and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. The Padma Vibhushan awardees included M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who was honored posthumously for contributions to literature and education, with the award accepted by his daughter. Osamu Suzuki also received the award posthumously for his impact on trade and industry, represented by his son. In medicine, Dr. Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy was recognized, while L. Subramaniam was awarded for his contributions to arts and music.
Among the Padma Bhushan recipients, Sushil Kumar Modi was posthumously honored for public service, with his award accepted by his wife, J.C. Modi. He was recognized for his long tenure as Deputy Chief Minister and significant contributions to implementing GST in India and stabilizing Bihar’s finances. Pankaj Keshubhai Udhas was posthumously awarded for contributions to arts and music, accepted by his wife. Nandamuri Balakrishna was honored for his work in arts and film, while other notable recipients included Vinod Kumar Dham from the USA in science and engineering, as well as Shekhar Kapur and S. Ajith Kumar for their contributions to film production and acting, respectively. Additional Padma Bhushan winners included Pankaj R. Patel for trade and industry, Josh Chacko Periyapuram in medicine, Dr. A. Surya Prakash for literature and education, and Srijesh P.R. for sports.
The list of Padma Shri recipients featured Shyam Bihari Agarwal in painting, Sheikh Aje Al Sabah as a yoga therapist, Dr. K. Mankutti Amma for performing arts, and Miriyala Apparao for folk storytelling (posthumously). In sports, cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin was recognized, alongside folk singers Jayancharan Bathari and Begum Batool. Other diverse fields were represented with honorees including Arundhati Bhattacharya in trade, Prof. Anil Kumar Boro in education, and Gokul Chandras in music.
This year marked the announcement of 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards on the eve of Republic Day, celebrating exceptional work across various domains such as art, social service, public affairs, science, and civil service.
