Republic Day 2025: Padma, Param, Vir, Maha Vir Chakra, Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar and Other Awards & Recipients

Republic Day celebrated on January 26, marks the adoption of the Indian Constitution in 1950. On this day, the nation honours exceptional individuals through various prestigious awards. 

The Padma Awards, including Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri, recognise distinguished service in fields like art, medicine, and social work. 

In this article, we’ll look into the significance of these awards and the selection process and highlight some prominent recipients.

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Significance of Republic Day Awards: Why January 26?

Republic Day, celebrated on January 26, holds great significance in India as it marks the adoption of the Constitution in 1950. 

This date was chosen to honour the Purna Swaraj Declaration made by the Indian National Congress in 1930, which called for complete independence from British rule. 

The day signifies India’s transition from a British dominion to a sovereign republic, embodying values of justice, equality, and fraternity.

On this day, various awards are presented to recognise the contributions of individuals across multiple fields. The Padma Awards, one of the highest civilian honours, are announced on the eve of Republic Day and awarded by the President of India. 

Other awards include gallantry medals for bravery and the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar for exceptional achievements by children. These honours celebrate the spirit of nationalism and inspire citizens to contribute positively to society.

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Overview of Padma, Gallantry, and Bal Puraskar Awards

The Padma Awards, among the highest civilian honours in India, are presented in three categories: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. 

These awards recognise excellence in various disciplines, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature, education, sports, and civil service. 

The Padma Vibhushan is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan for distinguished service of a high order, and the Padma Shri for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced annually on Republic Day.

The President of India confers these awards at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhawan, typically in March or April. For 2025, the President has approved 139 Padma Awards, including one duo case (counted as a single award). 

The list includes 7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri recipients. Among them are 23 women, 10 individuals of foreign origin (including NRIs, PIOs, and OCIs), and 13 posthumous honourees.

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Padma Vibhushan (7)

SN

Name

Field

State / Country

1

Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy

Medicine

Telangana

2

Justice (Retd.) Shri Jagdish Singh Khehar

Public Affairs

Chandigarh

3

Smt. Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia

Art

Gujarat

4

Shri Lakshminarayana Subramaniam

Art

Karnataka

5

Shri M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous)

Literature and Education

Kerala

6

Shri Osamu Suzuki (Posthumous)

Trade and Industry

Japan

7

Smt. Sharda Sinha (Posthumous)

Art

Bihar

Padma Bhushan (19)

SN

Name

Field

State / Country

8

Shri A Surya Prakash

Literature and Education – Journalism

Karnataka

9

Shri Anant Nag

Art

Karnataka

10

Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous)

Literature and Education

NCT Delhi

11

Shri Jatin Goswami

Art

Assam

12

Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram

Medicine

Kerala

13

Shri Kailash Nath Dikshit

Others – Archaeology

NCT Delhi

14

Shri Manohar Joshi (Posthumous)

Public Affairs

Maharashtra

15

Shri Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti

Trade and Industry

Tamil Nadu

16

Shri Nandamuri Balakrishna

Art

Andhra Pradesh

17

Shri P R Sreejesh

Sports

Kerala

18

Shri Pankaj Patel

Trade and Industry

Gujarat

19

Shri Pankaj Udhas (Posthumous)

Art

Maharashtra

20

Shri Rambahadur Rai

Literature and Education – Journalism

Uttar Pradesh

21

Sadhvi Ritambhara

Social Work

Uttar Pradesh

22

Shri S Ajith Kumar

Art

Tamil Nadu

23

Shri Shekhar Kapur

Art

Maharashtra

24

Ms. Shobana Chandrakumar

Art

Tamil Nadu

25

Shri Sushil Kumar Modi (Posthumous)

Public Affairs

Bihar

26

Shri Vinod Dham

Science and Engineering

United States of America

Padma Shri (113)

SN

Name

Field

State / Country

27

Shri Adwaita Charan Gadanayak

Art

Odisha

28

Shri Achyut Ramchandra Palav

Art

Maharashtra

29

Shri Ajay V Bhatt

Science and Engineering

United States of America

30

Shri Anil Kumar Boro

Literature and Education

Assam

31

Shri Arijit Singh

Art

West Bengal

32

Smt. Arundhati Bhattacharya

Trade and Industry

Maharashtra

33

Shri Arunoday Saha

Literature and Education

Tripura

34

Shri Arvind Sharma

Literature and Education

Canada

35

Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra

Medicine

Odisha

36

Shri Ashok Laxman Saraf

Art

Maharashtra

37

Shri Ashutosh Sharma

Science and Engineering

Uttar Pradesh

38

Smt. Ashwini Bhide Deshpande

Art

Maharashtra

39

Shri Baijnath Maharaj

Others – Spiritualism

Rajasthan

40

Shri Barry Godfray John

Art

NCT Delhi

41

Smt. Begam Batool

Art

Rajasthan

42

Shri Bharat Gupt

Art

NCT Delhi

43

Shri Bheru Singh Chouhan

Art

Madhya Pradesh

44

Shri Bhim Singh Bhavesh

Social Work

Bihar

45

Smt. Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara

Art

Karnataka

46

Shri Budhendra Kumar Jain

Medicine

Madhya Pradesh

47

Shri C S Vaidyanathan

Public Affairs

NCT Delhi

48

Shri Chaitram Deochand Pawar

Social Work

Maharashtra

49

Shri Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous)

Literature and Education

Gujarat

50

Shri Chandrakant Sompura

Others – Architecture

Gujarat

51

Shri Chetan E Chitnis

Science and Engineering

France

52

Shri David R Syiemlieh

Literature and Education

Meghalaya

53

Shri Durga Charan Ranbir

Art

Odisha

54

Shri Farooq Ahmad Mir

Art

Jammu and Kashmir

55

Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid

Literature and Education

Uttar Pradesh

56

Smt. Gita Upadhyay

Literature and Education

Assam

57

Shri Gokul Chandra Das

Art

West Bengal

58

Shri Guruvayur Dorai

Art

Tamil Nadu

59

Shri Harchandan Singh Bhatty

Art

Madhya Pradesh

60

Shri Hariman Sharma

Others – Agriculture

Himachal Pradesh

61

Shri Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale

Art

Punjab

62

Shri Harvinder Singh

Sports

Haryana

63

Shri Hassan Raghu

Art

Karnataka

64

Shri Hemant Kumar

Medicine

Bihar

65

Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit

Literature and Education

Uttar Pradesh

66

Shri Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo)*

Literature and Education – Journalism

Uttarakhand

67

Shri Inivalappil Mani Vijayan

Sports

Kerala

68

Shri Jagadish Joshila

Literature and Education

Madhya Pradesh

69

Smt. Jaspinder Narula

Art

Maharashtra

70

Shri Jonas Masetti

Others – Spiritualism

Brazil

71

Shri Joynacharan Bathari

Art

Assam

72

Smt. Jumde Yomgam Gamlin

Social Work

Arunachal Pradesh

73

Shri K. Damodaran

Others – Culinary

Tamil Nadu

74

Shri K L Krishna

Literature and Education

Andhra Pradesh

75

Smt. K Omanakutty Amma

Art

Kerala

76

Shri Kishore Kunal (Posthumous)

Civil Service

Bihar

77

Shri L Hangthing

Others – Agriculture

Nagaland

78

Shri Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer

Literature and Education – Journalism

Tamil Nadu

79

Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra

Literature and Education

Jammu And Kashmir

80

Shri Lama Lobzang (Posthumous)

Others – Spiritualism

Ladakh

81

Smt. Libia Lobo Sardesai

Social Work

Goa

82

Shri M D Srinivas

Science and Engineering

Tamil Nadu

83

Shri Madugula Nagaphani Sarma

Art

Andhra Pradesh

84

Shri Mahabir Nayak

Art

Jharkhand

85

Smt. Mamata Shankar

Art

West Bengal

86

Shri Manda Krishna Madiga

Public Affairs

Telangana

87

Shri Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli

Literature and Education

Maharashtra

88

Shri Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous)

Art

Andhra Pradesh

89

Shri Nagendra Nath Roy

Literature and Education

West Bengal

90

Shri Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous)

Public Affairs

Uttar Pradesh

91

Shri Naren Gurung

Art

Sikkim

92

Smt. Neerja Bhatla

Medicine

NCT Delhi

93

Smt. Nirmala Devi

Art

Bihar

94

Shri Nitin Nohria

Literature and Education

United States of America

95

Shri Onkar Singh Pahwa

Trade and Industry

Punjab

96

Shri P Datchanamoorthy

Art

Puducherry

97

Shri Pandi Ram Mandavi

Art

Chhattisgarh

98

Shri Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai

Art

Gujarat

99

Shri Pawan Goenka

Trade and Industry

West Bengal

100

Shri Prashanth Prakash

Trade and Industry

Karnataka

101

Smt. Pratibha Satpathy

Literature and Education

Odisha

102

Shri Purisai Kannappa Sambandan

Art

Tamil Nadu

103

Shri R Ashwin

Sports

Tamil Nadu

104

Shri R G Chandramogan

Trade and Industry

Tamil Nadu

105

Smt. Radha Bahin Bhatt

Social Work

Uttarakhand

106

Shri Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy

Art

Tamil Nadu

107

Shri Ramdarash Mishra

Literature and Education

NCT Delhi

108

Shri Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar

Art

Maharashtra

109

Shri Ratan Kumar Parimoo

Art

Gujarat

110

Shri Reba Kanta Mahanta

Art

Assam

111

Shri Renthlei Lalrawna

Literature and Education

Mizoram

112

Shri Ricky Gyan Kej

Art

Karnataka

113

Shri Sajjan Bhajanka

Trade and Industry

West Bengal

114

Smt. Sally Holkar

Trade and Industry

Madhya Pradesh

115

Shri Sant Ram Deswal

Literature and Education

Haryana

116

Shri Satyapal Singh

Sports

Uttar Pradesh

117

Shri Seeni Viswanathan

Literature and Education

Tamil Nadu

118

Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan

Science and Engineering

United States of America

119

Smt. Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

Medicine

Kuwait

120

Shri Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa)

Literature and Education

Rajasthan

121

Shri Shyam Bihari Agrawal

Art

Uttar Pradesh

122

Smt. Soniya Nityanand

Medicine

Uttar Pradesh

123

Shri Stephen Knapp

Literature and Education

United States of America

124

Shri Subhash Khetulal Sharma

Others – Agriculture

Maharashtra

125

Shri Suresh Harilal Soni

Social Work

Gujarat

126

Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal

Science and Engineering

Delhi

127

Shri Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj)

Others – Spiritualism

West Bengal

128

Shri Syed Ainul Hasan

Literature and Education

Uttar Pradesh

129

Shri Tejendra Narayan Majumdar

Art

West Bengal

130

Smt. Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi

Art

Manipur

131

Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla

Literature and Education

Gujarat

132

Shri Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi

Literature and Education

Andhra Pradesh

133

Shri Vasudeo Kamath

Art

Maharashtra

134

Shri Velu Aasaan

Art

Tamil Nadu

135

Shri Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar

Art

Karnataka

136

Shri Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj

Others – Spiritualism

Bihar

137

Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane

Medicine

Karnataka

138

Shri Vilas Dangre

Medicine

Maharashtra

139

Shri Vinayak Lohani

Social Work

West Bengal

Note: In Duo case, the Award is counted as one.

How Are Awardees Selected for Republic Day Honours?

Awardees for Republic Day honours, including the Padma Awards and gallantry medals, are selected through a structured process. 

The nomination period runs from May 1 to September 15 each year, during which recommendations can be made by state governments, ministries, and the public. Individuals can also self-nominate.

The Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister, reviews these nominations. This committee includes the Cabinet Secretary, Home Secretary, Secretary to the President, and several eminent members from various fields. 

The committee looks for “excellence plus,” meaning that nominees should demonstrate exceptional achievements with a significant element of public service.

After thorough verification by government agencies to ensure the integrity of the nominees, recommendations are submitted to the Prime Minister and then to the President for final approval.