Prez Murmu to Present Remaining Padma Awards on June 23: Mammootty, Madhavan, Rohit Sharma Among 65 Awardees

The second investiture ceremony will bring the curtain down on a landmark year for India's highest civilian honours, with a roll call spanning regional cinema legends, cricket icons and unsung grassroots heroes

President Droupadi Murmu will host the second Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan on June 23 , conferring the remaining Padma Awards for 2026 upon the 65 recipients who could not be accommodated in the first round. The first ceremony, held on May 25 at the Ganatantra Mandap, honoured 66 eminent personalities, with the President presenting 2 Padma Vibhushan, 6 Padma Bhushan, and 58 Padma Shri awards on that occasion.

For 2026, the President approved 131 Padma Awards in total, 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri . The list includes 19 women awardees, 6 from the Foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI category, and 16 posthumous awardees, with 2 duo cases counted as one. Together, the two ceremonies mark one of the most culturally diverse editions of the awards in recent memory, with the government's stated push to make this a "People's Padma" , driven by public nominations, translating into recognition for figures far beyond the usual metropolitan spotlight.

The most prominent names collecting their awards at the June 23 ceremony include Malayalam superstar Mammootty , who receives the Padma Bhushan after a career spanning over 400 films and multiple National Awards. Singer Alka Yagnik also receives the Padma Bhushan, joining a category that in the full 2026 list also features tennis legend Vijay Amritraj , banker Uday Kotak , and scholar Shatavadhani R. Ganesh , among others. On the Padma Shri front, multi-lingual actor R. Madhavan and Telugu comedian Gadde Babu Rajendra Prasad , whose career spans five decades and over 240 films, are among those awaiting their honours. Prosenjit Chatterjee of Bengali cinema and cricketer Rohit Sharma are also on the Padma Shri list. The late comedian Satish Shah , who died on October 25 last year at the age of 74 after a career of nearly five decades, will be honoured posthumously with the Padma Shri.

The May 25 ceremony had its own defining moments. The posthumous Padma Vibhushan for late actor Dharmendra , received by his widow Hema Malini , was the emotional centrepiece of the evening. Former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan was also awarded the Padma Vibhushan posthumously, while women's cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur received the Padma Shri for her contribution to sports.

Nominations for the Padma Awards 2027 have already opened, with the last date set for July 31, 2026 , accepted only through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal . The government has continued to emphasise nominations from women, weaker sections, scheduled castes and tribes, and grassroots social workers, a democratic recalibration of an institution that, across its seven decades, has often been accused of rewarding proximity to power over genuine public service.