The Padma Awards 2025 were announced on January 25, 2025, celebrating excellence and outstanding contributions in various fields these prestigious civilian honours, established in 1954, include three categories: Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional service), Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. For 2025, the President of India has approved 139 Padma Awards, including one duo case, where the award is counted as one, this year’s list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri awards. Of the awardees, 23 are women, while 10 are categorised as Foreigners, NRIs, PIOs, and OCIs. Additionally, 13 awards have been given posthumously to honour individuals for their exceptional achievements.
The Awards are presented by the President of India usually in March/April every year where the awardees are presented a Sanad (Certificate) signed by the President and a medallion. The names of the awardees were published in the Gazette of India on the day of the presentation ceremony.
What is the Padma Awards 2025?
The Padma Awards is one of India’s highest civilian honours and is presented annually by the Government of India to recognise exceptional contributions in various disciplines, including art, literature, science, public service, sports, and trade and industry. The Padma Awards are categorised into three distinctions: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. The President of India confers these awards on Republic Day each year.
Categories of the Padma Awards
The Padma Awards consist of three distinct categories:
- Padma Vibhushan—This is the highest of the three awards and is given for exceptional and distinguished service in any field.
- Padma Bhushan—This award is given for distinguished service of high order in any field.
- Padma Shri – The Padma Shri is awarded for distinguished service in any field, recognising achievements that may not be as high-order but are significant in their own right.
Difference between Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri
| Padma Vibhushan | Padma Bhushan | Padma Shri |
| Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian honour of India. | Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the country. | Padma Shri is the fourth-highest civilian honour of the country. |
| It is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. | It is awarded for distinguished service of a high order. | It is awarded for distinguished service. |
| Pahela Varg (Class I) was its previous name. | Dusra Varg (Class II) was its previous name. | Teesra Varg (Class III) was its previous name. |
| In 1954, six people were honoured with the award. | In 1954, twenty-three people were honoured with the award. | In 1954, seventeen people were honoured with the award. |
Eligibility Criteria
Any person without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex is eligible for these Awards. However, serving Government servants, including those working with PSUs, except Doctors and Scientists, are not eligible for these Awards. The Award seeks to recognize works of distinction and is given for distinguished and exceptional achievements/service in all fields of activities/disciplines. An illustrative list of the fields is as under:
Art – Includes Music, Painting, Sculpture, Photography, Cinema, Theatre, etc.
Social Work – Includes social and charitable services in the areas of affordable healthcare and education, and several other contributions to community projects like Environment, Sanitation, etc.
Public Affairs- Includes work in the area of Law, Public Life, Politics, etc.
Science & Engineering – Includes Space Engineering, Nuclear Science, Information Technology, Research & Development in Science & its allied subjects, etc.
Trade & Industry – Includes banking, economic activities, management, trading and business in the areas of manufacturing, hospitality, technology, textiles, accounting, finance, tourism, etc.
Medicine – Includes medical research and distinction/specialization in Allopathy, Ayurveda, Homeopathy, Siddha, Naturopathy, etc.
Literature & Education – Includes promotion of literacy and education, education reforms, teaching, journalism, literature & poetry, authors, etc.
Civil Service – Includes distinction/excellence in administration etc. by Government Servants
Sports – Includes Sports, Athletics, Mountaineering, promotion of sports, etc.
Others – Includes fields that are not covered in the above-mentioned fields. This may include Spirituality, Yoga, wildlife protection/conservation, Culinary, Agriculture, grassroots innovations, Archaeology, Architecture, etc.
Posthumous Cases: The Award is not conferred posthumously. However, in highly deserving and rare cases, the Government could consider giving an Award posthumously.
Eligibility for a Higher Category of Padma Award
A higher category of Padma Award can be conferred on a person only where at least five years have elapsed since the conferment of the earlier Padma Award. However, an exception can be made by the Awards Committee in cases of rare and exceptional achievements.
Selection Process
All nominations/recommendations received for Padma Awards are placed before the Padma Awards Committee which is constituted by the Prime Minister every year. No Award is conferred except on the recommendation of the Awards Committee. The recommendations of the Committee are submitted to the Prime Minister and the President of India for approval.
Padma Awards 2025: Complete List of Awardees
The Padma Awards 2025 saw several relevant figures being honoured for their remarkable contributions. Below is the list of recipients under each category:
Padma Vibhushan Awardees 2025
- Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy – Medicine, Telangana
- Justice (Retd.) Shri Jagdish Singh Khehar – Public Affairs, Chandigarh
- Smt. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia – Art, Gujarat
- Shri Lakshminarayana Subramaniam – Art, Karnataka
- Shri M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous) – Literature and Education, Kerala
- Shri Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous) – Trade and Industry, Japan
- Smt. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous) – Art, Bihar
Padma Bhushan Awardees 2025
- Shri A Surya Prakash – Literature and Education (Journalism), Karnataka
- Shri Anant Nag – Art, Karnataka
- Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous) – Literature and Education, NCT Delhi
- Shri Jatin Goswami – Art, Assam
- Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram – Medicine, Kerala
- Shri Kailash Nath Dikshit – Others (Archaeology), NCT Delhi
- Shri Manohar Joshi (Posthumous) – Public Affairs, Maharashtra
- Shri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti – Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Nandamuri Balakrishna – Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri P R Sreejesh – Sports, Kerala
- Shri Pankaj Patel – Trade and Industry, Gujarat
- Shri Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous) – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Rambahadur Rai – Literature and Education (Journalism), Uttar Pradesh
- Sadhvi Ritambhara – Social Work, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri S Ajith Kumar – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Shekhar Kapur – Art, Maharashtra
- Ms. Shobana Chandrakumar – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous) – Public Affairs, Bihar
- Shri Vinod Dham – Science and Engineering, USA
Padma Shri Awardees 2025
- Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak – Art, Odisha
- Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Ajay V Bhatt – Science and Engineering, USA
- Shri Anil Kumar Boro – Literature and Education, Assam
- Shri Arijit Singh – Art, West Bengal
- Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya – Trade and Industry, Maharashtra
- Shri Arunoday Saha – Literature and Education, Tripura
- Shri Arvind Sharma – Literature and Education, Canada
- Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra – Medicine, Odisha
- Shri Ashok Laxman Saraf – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Ashutosh Sharma – Science and Engineering, Uttar Pradesh
- Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Baijnath Maharaj – Others (Spiritualism), Rajasthan
- Shri Barry Godfray John – Art, NCT Delhi
- Smt. Begam Batool – Art, Rajasthan
- Shri Bharat Gupt – Art, NCT Delhi
- Shri Bheru Singh Chouhan – Art, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Bhim Singh Bhavesh – Social Work, Bihar
- Smt. Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara – Art, Karnataka
- Shri Budhendra Kumar Jain – Medicine, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri C S Vaidyanathan – Public Affairs, NCT Delhi
- Shri Chaitram Deochand Pawar – Social Work, Maharashtra
- Shri Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) – Literature and Education, Gujarat
- Shri Chandrakant Sompura – Others (Architecture), Gujarat
- Shri Chetan E Chitnis – Science and Engineering, France
- Shri David R Syiemlieh – Literature and Education, Meghalaya
- Shri Durga Charan Ranbir – Art, Odisha
- Shri Farooq Ahmad Mir – Art, Jammu and Kashmir
- Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid – Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh
- Smt. Gita Upadhyay – Literature and Education, Assam
- Shri Gokul Chandra Das – Art, West Bengal
- Shri Guruvayur Dorai – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Harchandan Singh Bhatty – Art, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Hariman Sharma – Others (Agriculture), Himachal Pradesh
- Shri Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale – Art, Punjab
- Shri Harvinder Singh – Sports, Haryana
- Shri Hassan Raghu – Art, Karnataka
- Shri Hemant Kumar – Medicine, Bihar
- Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit – Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo) – Literature and Education (Journalism), Uttarakhand
- Shri Inivalappil Mani Vijayan – Sports, Kerala
- Shri Jagadish Joshila – Literature and Education, Madhya Pradesh
- Smt. Jaspinder Narula – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Jonas Masetti – Others (Spiritualism), Brazil
- Shri Joynacharan Bathari – Art, Assam
- Smt. Jumde Yomgam Gamlin – Social Work, Arunachal Pradesh
- Shri K. Damodaran – Others (Culinary), Tamil Nadu
- Shri K L Krishna – Literature and Education, Andhra Pradesh
- Smt. K Omanakutty Amma – Art, Kerala
- Shri Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) – Civil Service, Bihar
- Shri L Hangthing – Others (Agriculture), Nagaland
- Shri Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer – Literature and Education (Journalism), Tamil Nadu
- Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra – Literature and Education, Jammu and Kashmir
- Shri Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) – Others (Spiritualism), Ladakh
- Smt. Libia Lobo Sardesai – Social Work, Goa
- Shri M D Srinivas – Science and Engineering, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Madugula Nagaphani Sarma – Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Mahabir Nayak – Art, Jharkhand
- Smt. Mamata Shankar – Art, West Bengal
- Shri Manda Krishna Madiga – Public Affairs, Telangana
- Shri Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli – Literature and Education, Maharashtra
- Shri Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) – Art, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Nagendra Nath Roy – Literature and Education, West Bengal
- Shri Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) – Public Affairs, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Naren Gurung – Art, Sikkim
- Smt. Neerja Bhatla – Medicine, NCT Delhi
- Smt. Nirmala Devi – Art, Bihar
- Shri Nitin Nohria – Literature and Education, USA
- Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa – Trade and Industry, Punjab
- Shri P Datchanamoorthy – Art, Puducherry
- Shri Pandi Ram Mandavi – Art, Chhattisgarh
- Shri Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai – Art, Gujarat
- Shri Pawan Goenka – Trade and Industry, West Bengal
- Shri Prashanth Prakash – Trade and Industry, Karnataka
- Smt. Pratibha Satpathy – Literature and Education, Odisha
- Shri Purisai Kannappa Sambandan – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri R Ashwin – Sports, Tamil Nadu
- Shri R G Chandramogan – Trade and Industry, Tamil Nadu
- Smt. Radha Bahin Bhatt – Social Work, Uttarakhand
- Shri Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Ramdarash Mishra – Literature and Education, NCT Delhi
- Shri Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Ratan Kumar Parimoo – Art, Gujarat
- Shri Reba Kanta Mahanta – Art, Assam
- Shri Renthlei Lalrawna – Literature and Education, Mizoram
- Shri Ricky Gyan Kej – Art, Karnataka
- Shri Sajjan Bhajanka – Trade and Industry, West Bengal
- Smt. Sally Holkar – Trade and Industry, Madhya Pradesh
- Shri Sant Ram Deswal – Literature and Education, Haryana
- Shri Satyapal Singh – Sports, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Seeni Viswanathan – Literature and Education, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan – Science and Engineering, USA
- Smt. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah – Medicine, Kuwait
- Shri Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) – Literature and Education, Rajasthan
- Shri Shyam Bihari Agrawal – Art, Uttar Pradesh
- Smt. Soniya Nityanand – Medicine, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Stephen Knapp – Literature and Education, USA
- Shri Subhash Khetulal Sharma – Others (Agriculture), Maharashtra
- Shri Suresh Harilal Soni – Social Work, Gujarat
- Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal – Science and Engineering, NCT Delhi
- Shri Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) – Others (Spiritualism), West Bengal
- Shri Syed Ainul Hasan – Literature and Education, Uttar Pradesh
- Shri Tejendra Narayan Majumdar – Art, West Bengal
- Smt. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi – Art, Manipur
- Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla – Literature and Education, Gujarat
- Shri Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi – Literature and Education, Andhra Pradesh
- Shri Vasudeo Kamath – Art, Maharashtra
- Shri Velu Aasaan – Art, Tamil Nadu
- Shri Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar – Art, Karnataka
- Shri Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj – Others (Spiritualism), Bihar
- Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane – Medicine, Karnataka
- Shri Vilas Dangre – Medicine, Maharashtra
- Shri Vinayak Lohani – Social Work, West Bengal
Importance of the Padma Awards 2025
The Padma Awards 2025 honours individuals for their exceptional skills and contributions by highlighting the diverse talents contributing to India’s development in every field. These awards showcase excellence across a variety of sectors and grab the attention of unsung heroes who might not otherwise receive recognition for their hard work. The recognition serves as an encouragement for others to come forward for greatness in their fields.
