The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service of a high order", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The recipients receive a Sanad, a certificate signed by the President of India and a circular-shaped medallion with no monetary association. The recipients are announced every year on Republic Day (26January) and registered in The Gazette of Indiaa publication used for official government notices and released weekly by the Department of Publication, under the Ministry of Urban Development. The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. The name of a recipient, whose award has been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, is archived and they are required to surrender their medal when their name is struck from the register. , none of the conferments of Padma Bhushan during 2010s have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, as well as from Ministries of the Government of India, the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan awardees, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals.
When instituted in 1954, the Padma Bhushan was classified as "Dusra Warg" (Class II) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards, which were preceded by the Bharat Ratna in hierarchy. On 15January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards as the Padma Vibhushan, the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria included "distinguished service of a high order in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excluded those working with the public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards; this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The design was also changed to the form that is currently in use; it portrays a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion in diameter and thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" is placed above and the text "Bhushan" is placed below the lotus written in Devanagari script. The State Emblem of India is displayed in the centre of the reverse side, together with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari script, which is inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of standard gold with the text "Padma Bhushan" of gold gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband in width with a broad white stripe in the middle. It is ranked fifth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations of the Indian civilian and military awards.
As of 2026, a total of 81 individuals have been conferred with the award and have been conferred upon six foreign recipients one from Bangladesh and Mexico each and six from the United States of America. Individuals from ten different fields were awarded, which includes one from medical field, two civil servants, sportspersons and from Science & Engineering field each, three from social work, seven artists, eight from literature and education, nine from trade and industry, eleven from public affairs, and six from other fields. Most recently on 25 January 2026, the award has been bestowed upon thirteen recipients.*
Overview
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Recipients
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+ List of Padma Bhushan award recipients (2020–2029) Year Image Laureates Field State / country 2020 Others Kerala 2020 *#Public Affairs 2020 Public Affairs Jammu and Kashmir 2020 Arts West Bengal 2020 Literature and Education Puducherry 2020 Others Gujarat 2020 Social Work Tamil Nadu 2020 Public Affairs Nagaland 2020 Social Work Uttarakhand 2020 Medicine Ladakh 2020 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2020 # Public Affairs Kerala 2020 #Public AffairsGoa 2020 * Literature and Education 2020 P. V. Sindhu Sports Telangana 2020 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2020 Public Affairs Madhya Pradesh 2021 Arts Kerala 2021 # Public Affairs Assam 2021 Literature and Education Karnataka 2021 Civil Service Uttar Pradesh 2021 #Public AffairsBihar 2021 # Public Affairs Gujarat 2021 # Others Uttar Pradesh 2021 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2021 Public Affairs Haryana 2022 Public Affairs Jammu and Kashmir 2022 # Arts Punjab 2022 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2022 * Others 2022 Sports Rajasthan 2022 Arts Uttar Pradesh 2022 Civil Service Rajasthan 2022 * Trade and Industry 2022 * Trade and Industry 2022 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2022 *# Science and Engineering 2022 Literature and Education Odisha 2022 Literature and Education Gujarat 2022 Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 2022 Trade and Industry Telangana 2022 Arts West Bengal 2023 Literature and Education Karnataka 2023 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2023 Science and Engineering Maharashtra 2023 Arts Tamil Nadu 2023 Others Telangana 2023 Arts Maharashtra 2023 Literature and Education Delhi 2023 Social Work Karnataka 2023 Others Telangana 2024 # Public Affairs Kerala 2024 Literature and Education Maharashtra 2024 Arts West Bengal 2024 Trade and Industry Karnataka 2024 * Trade and Industry 2024 Medicine Maharashtra 2024 # Public Affairs West Bengal 2024 Public Affairs Maharashtra 2024 Medicine Gujarat 2024 Public Affairs Kerala 2024 Arts Maharashtra 2024 # Others Ladakh 2024 Arts Maharashtra 2024 Medicine Bihar 2024 Arts West Bengal 2024 # Arts Tamil Nadu 2024 Literature and Education Maharashtra 2025 Literature and Education Karnataka 2025 Arts Karnataka 2025 # Literature and Education Delhi 2025 Arts Assam 2025 Medicine Kerala 2025 Others Delhi 2025 # Public Affairs Maharashtra 2025 Trade and Industry Tamil Nadu 2025 Arts Andhra Pradesh 2025 Sports Kerala 2025 Trade and Industry Gujarat 2025 #ArtsMaharashtra 2025 Literature and Education Uttar Pradesh 2025 Social Work Uttar Pradesh 2025 Arts Tamil Nadu 2025 Arts Maharashtra 2025 Arts Kerala 2025 # Public Affairs Bihar 2025 * Science and Engineering 2026 Arts Maharashtra 2026 Public Affairs Uttarakhand 2026 Medicine Tamil Nadu 2026 Arts Kerala 2026 * Medicine 2026 # Arts Maharashtra 2026 Social Work Tamil Nadu 2026 Arts Karnataka 2026 # Public Affairs Jharkhand 2026 Trade and Industry Maharashtra 2026 # Public Affairs Delhi 2026 Public Affairs Kerala 2026 * Sports
Explanatory notes
Posthumous recipients
References
External links