
The process of submitting nominations and recommendations for the Padma Awards, which will be announced on Republic Day 2027 to honour individuals for exceptional achievements and service, commenced on Sunday.
The Padma Awards — Padma Vibhushan (awarded for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (awarded for distinguished service of a high order) and Padma Shri (awarded for distinguished service in any field) are among the country’s highest civilian honours. Instituted in 1954, these awards are announced every year on Republic Day to recognise “work of distinction” across various fields, a government statement said, according to PTI.
It also clarified that all nominations and recommendations will be accepted only through the online Rashtriya Puraskar Portal https://awards.gov.in.
According to a government statement, the deadline for submitting nominations has been set as July 31, 2026.
The government said these awards are conferred in recognition of distinguished and exceptional achievements as well as service across a wide range of fields and disciplines, including art, literature and education, sports, medicine, social work, science and engineering, public affairs, civil service, and trade and industry, among others.
The statement also noted that the government remains “committed” to transforming the Padma Awards into “people’s Padma.”
"All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. Government servants including those working with PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for Padma Awards," it mentioned.
The statement said that all citizens have been encouraged to submit nominations or recommendations, including self-nominations. It also urged people to make special efforts to identify deserving individuals, particularly women, members of weaker sections, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, divyang persons, and those engaged in selfless service to society, whose excellence and contributions merit recognition.
It further noted that nominations and recommendations must include all necessary details as per the prescribed format available on the portal, clearly highlighting the nominee’s distinguished achievements and exceptional service in their respective field or discipline.
"Details in this regard are also available under the heading 'Awards and Medals' on the website of the Ministry of Home Affairs (https://mha.gov.in) and on the Padma Awards Portal (https://padmaawards.gov.in)," it further stated.
The statement further added that the statutes and guidelines governing these awards can also be accessed on the official website.
For 2026, the President approved the conferment of 131 Padma Awards, which include two duo cases, counted as a single award in each instance. The honours comprised five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards.
(With inputs from agencies)
Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X