President Droupadi Murmu, on Monday, April 28, conferred the prestigious Padma Awards to 71 distinguished individuals at the Civil Investiture Ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan's Durbar Hall. The honours included four Padma Vibhushan, 10 Padma Bhushan, and 57 Padma Shri awards, recognising outstanding contributions across diverse fields. The event marked the first phase of Padma Award presentations for the year 2025.
Tamil actor Ajith Kumar, late Malayalam writer MT Vasudevan Nair, actor-MLA Balakrishna, Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti, playback singer Arijit Singh and Madiga Reservation Porata Samiti (MRPS) leader Manda Krishna Madiga are among the 139 recipients of the Padma Awards this year. Also, visionary auto industry leader and founder of Suzuki Motors Osamu Suzuki, Bihar folk music legend Sharda Sinha, politician Sushil Kumar, Ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhas, Economist and author Bibek Debroy have been awarded posthumously.
Renowned violinist L Subramaniam was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his exceptional contribution to the field of art. Osamu Suzuki was posthumously honoured with the Padma Vibhushan for his contributions to trade and industry. His son and current CEO Toshihiro Suzuki accepted the award on his behalf.
In the field of art, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, actor and Andhra Pradesh legislator Nandamuri Balakrishna, actor S Ajith Kumar, and the late singer Pankaj Udhas were awarded the Padma Bhushan. The award for Pankaj Udhas was received by his wife Farida Udhas. Former Indian hockey goalkeeper PR Sreejesh was conferred the Padma Bhushan for his achievements in sports.
Notable Padma Shri recipients included playback singer Jaspinder Narula for her contribution to music and Indian cricketer Ravichandran Ashwin for excellence in sports. Prominent Vedic scholar Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid was also honoured with the Padma Shri. He is credited with determining the auspicious timings for the inauguration of Ram temple in Ayodhya and the foundation ceremony of the Kashi Vishwanath Corridor in Varanasi.
American author and researcher Stephen Knapp, known for his writings on Vedic culture and spirituality, was awarded the Padma Shri for his work in literature and education.
The Padma Awards, among India's highest civilian honours are conferred in
three categories – Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri – to individuals for exceptional service in fields such as art, public affairs, science and engineering, medicine, social work, literature, and education. ‘Padma Vibhushan' is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, 'Padma Bhushan' for distinguished service of high order and 'Padma Shri' for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
According to an official statement by the Ministry of Home Affairs, 139 awards have been announced this year, including seven Padma Vibhushan, 19 Paddma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri awards. The awards are also given to 13 posthumous awardees.
Here is a full list of the awardees: