The central government announced the names of unsung heroes for the prestigious Padma award on Saturday, ahead of Republic Day. Among the honorees is Libia Lobo Sardesai, a 100-year-old freedom fighter from Goa, who played a pivotal role in Goa’s liberation movement. In 1955, she co-founded an underground radio station, Voz da Liberdade (Voice of Freedom), in a forested area to galvanize resistance against Portuguese rule.

Another noteworthy recipient is Gokul Chandra Dey, a 57-year-old Dhak player from West Bengal. Defying gender norms, he trained 150 women in this traditionally male-dominated field. Dey also innovated a lightweight version of the Dhak, making it 1.5 kg lighter than conventional instruments. He has performed with maestros like Pandit Ravi Shankar and Ustad Zakir Hussain and represented India on international platforms.

Also recognized is Dr. Neerja Bhatla, a Delhi-based gynecologist specializing in cervical cancer detection, prevention, and management. Her contributions to women’s healthcare have earned her the distinguished Padma Shri.

Here’s the list of all the Padma awardees:

Padma Vibhushan

  • Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy (Medicine)
  • Jagdish Singh Khehar (Public Affairs)
  • Kumudini Rajnikant Lakhia (Art)
  • Lakshminarayana Subramaniam (Art)
  • MT Vasudevan Nair (Literature and Education)
  • Osmau Suzuki (Trade and Industry)
  • Sharda Sinha (Art)

Padma Bhushan

  • Surya Prakash (Literature and Education)
  • Anant Nag (Art)
  • Bibek Debroy (Posthumous) (Literature and Education)
  • Jatin Goswami (Art)
  • Jose Chacko Periappuram (Medicine)
  • Kailash Nath Dikshit (Posthumous) (Archeology)
  • Manohar Joshi (Posthumous) (Public Affairs)
  • Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti (Trade and Industry)
  • Nandamuri Balakrishna (Art)
  • PR Sreejesh (Sports)
  • Pankaj Patel (Trade and Industry)
  • Pankaj Udhas (posthumous) (Art)
  • Rambahadur Rai (Literature and Education- Journalism)
  • Sadhvi Ritambhara (Social Work)
  • S Ajith Kumar (Art)
  • Shekhar Kapur (Art)
  • Shobana Chandrakumar (Art)
  • Sushil Kumar Modi (Public Affairs)
  • Vinod Dham (Science and Engineering)

Padma Shri

  • Adwaita Charan Gadanayak (Art)
  • Achyut Ramchandra Palav (Art)
  • Ajay V Bhatt (Science and Engineering)
  • Anil Kumar Boro (Literature and Education)
  • Arijit Singh (Art)
  • Arundhati Bhattacharya (Trade and Industry)
  • Arunoday Saha (Literature and Education)
  • Arvind Sharma (Literature and Education)
  • Ashok Kumar Mahapatra (Medicine)
  • Ashok Laxman Saraf (Art)
  • Ashutosh Sharma (Science and Engineering)
  • Ashwini Bhide Deshpande (Art)
  • Baijnath Maharaj (Spiritualism)
  • Barry Godfray John (Art)
  • Begam Batool (Art)
  • Bharat Gupt (Art)
  • Bheru Singh Chouhan (Art)
  • Bhim Singh Bhavesh (Social Work)
  • Bhimavva Doddabalappa Shillekyathara (Art)
  • Budhendra Kumar Jain (Medicine)
  • C S Vaidyanathan (Public Affairs)
  • Chaitram Deochand Pawar (Social Work)
  • Chandrakant Sheth (Posthumous) (Literature and Education)
  • Chandrakant Sompura (Architecture)
  • Chetan E Chitnis (Science and Engineering)
  • David R Syiemlieh (Literature and Education)
  • Durga Charan Ranbir (Art)
  • Farooq Ahmad Mir (Art)
  • Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid (Literature and Education)
  • Gita Upadhyay (Literature and Education)
  • Gokul Chandra Das (Art)
  • Guruvayur Dorai (Art)
  • Harchandan Singh Bhatty (Art)
  • Hariman Sharma (Others – Agriculture)
  • Harjinder Singh Srinagar Wale (Art)
  • Harvinder Singh (Sports)
  • Hassan Raghu (Art)
  • Hemant Kumar (Medicine)
  • Hriday Narayan Dixit (Literature and Education)
  • Hugh and Colleen Gantzer (Posthumous) (Duo)* (Literature and Education – Journalism)
  • Inivalappil Mani Vijayan (Sports)
  • Jagadish Joshila (Literature and Education)
  • Jaspinder Narula (Art)
  • Jonas Masetti (Others – Spiritualism)
  • Joynacharan Bathari (Art)
  • Jumde Yomgam Gamlin (Social Work)
  • K. Damodaran (Others – Culinary)
  • K L Krishna (Literature and Education)
  • K Omanakutty Amma (Art)
  • Kishore Kunal (Posthumous) (Civil Service)
  • L Hangthing (Others – Agriculture)
  • Lakshmipathy Ramasubbaiyer (Literature and Education – Journalism)
  • Lalit Kumar Mangotra (Literature and Education)
  • Lama Lobzang (Posthumous) (Others – Spiritualism)
  • Libia Lobo Sardesai (Social Work)
  • M D Srinivas (Science and Engineering)
  • Madugula Nagaphani Sarma (Art)
  • Mahabir Nayak (Art)
  • Mamata Shankar (Art)
  • Manda Krishna Madiga (Public Affairs)
  • Maruti Bhujangrao Chitampalli (Literature and Education)
  • Miriyala Apparao (Posthumous) (Art)
  • Nagendra Nath Roy (Literature and Education)
  • Narayan (Bhulai Bhai) (Posthumous) (Public Affairs)
  • Naren Gurung (Art)
  • Neerja Bhatla (Medicine)
  • Nirmala Devi (Art)
  • Nitin Nohria (Literature and Education)
  • Onkar Singh Pahwa (Trade and Industry)
  • P Datchanamoorthy (Art)
  • Pandi Ram Mandavi (Art)
  • Parmar Lavjibhai Nagjibhai (Art)
  • Pawan Goenka (Trade and Industry)
  • Prashanth Prakash (Trade and Industry)
  • Pratibha Satpathy (Literature and Education)
  • Purisai Kannappa Sambandan (Art)
  • R Ashwin (Sports)
  • R G Chandramogan (Trade and Industry)
  • Radha Bahin Bhatt (Social Work)
  • Radhakrishnan Devasenapathy (Art)
  • Ramdarash Mishra (Literature and Education)
  • Ranendra Bhanu Majumdar (Art)
  • Ratan Kumar Parimoo (Art)
  • Reba Kanta Mahanta (Art)
  • Renthlei Lalrawna (Literature and Education)
  • Ricky Gyan Kej (Art)
  • Sajjan Bhajanka (Trade and Industry)
  • Sally Holkar (Trade and Industry)
  • Sant Ram Deswal (Literature and Education)
  • Satyapal Singh (Sports)
  • Seeni Viswanathan (Literature and Education)
  • Sethuraman Panchanathan (Science and Engineering)
  • Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Medicine)
  • Sheen Kaaf Nizam (Shiv Kishan Bissa) (Literature and Education)
  • Shyam Bihari Agrawal (Art)
  • Soniya Nityanand (Medicine)
  • Stephen Knapp (Literature and Education)
  • Subhash Khetulal Sharma (Others – Agriculture)
  • Suresh Harilal Soni (Social Work)
  • Surinder Kumar Vasal (Science and Engineering)
  • Swami Pradiptananda (Kartik Maharaj) (Others – Spiritualism)
  • Syed Ainul Hasan (Literature and Education)
  • Tejendra Narayan Majumdar (Art)
  • Thiyam Suryamukhi Devi (Art)
  • Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla (Literature and Education)
  • Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi (Literature and Education)
  • Vasudeo Kamath (Art)
  • Velu Aasaan (Art)
  • Venkappa Ambaji Sugatekar (Art)
  • Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj (Others – Spiritualism)
  • Vijayalakshmi Deshamane (Medicine)
  • Vilas Dangre (Medicine)
  • Vinayak Lohani (Social Work)