Prez confers 66 Padma Awards; Dharmendra, N Rajam honoured

A MOMENT OF PRIDE

NEW DELHI, 25 MAY

President Droupadi Murmu conferred the Padma Vibhushan on actor Dharmendra posthumously and classical musician N Rajam at a Civil Investiture Ceremony at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here on Monday.

As the name of Dharmendra’s wife Hema Malini, a BJP MP, was announced for his exceptional service in the field of art, their daughter Ahana Deol, sitting in the audience, broke down in tears.

Rajam was honoured for her work in Indian classical music, especially for revolutionising violin via ‘Gayaki Ang’ style that replicates vocal music on the instrument.

Murmu conferred the Padma Bhushan on Bhagat Singh Koshyari, former Uttarakhand CM; Shatavadhani R Ganesh, acclaimed polymath who revived the classical Indian art form ‘Avadhana’; Uday Suresh Kumar Kotak, founder of Kotak Mahindra Bank; and gastroenterologist Kallipatti Ramasamy Palaniswamy.

She also gave the award posthumously on ad guru Piyush Pandey and former parliamentarian Vijay Kumar Malhotra. Pandey’s wife and Malhotra’s son received the awards.

For 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards, five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri.

At Monday’ event, she conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri. The remaining awardees will be conferred in the second round of the ceremony later, sources said.

Indian women’s cricket captain Harmanpreet Kaur Bhullar, actor Prosenjit Chatterjee, para athlete Praveen Kumar and former CRPF director general K Vijay Kumar received the Padma Shri.