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Padma Awards 2026: Former UGC Chief to IIT Madras Director — list of education leaders honoured

Based on the Padma Awards 2026 list, the following personalities have been conferred awards in the fields of Literature and Education and Science and Engineering:

3 min readNew DelhiUpdated: Jan 27, 2026 04:31 PM IST

Padma Awards 2026: From former UGC Chief to IIT Madras Director—education leaders honoured

Former UGC Chief Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar, IIT Madras director V Kamakoti, Mangala Kapoor, A E Muthunayagam and Krishnamurty Balasubramanian. (Image: MIB\ X)

The Padma Awards 2026 have once again spotlighted India’s academic excellence, with several eminent educationists making it to the prestigious list. From former University Grants Commission (UGC) chief Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar to IIT Madras director V Kamakoti, the honours celebrate individuals whose contributions have shaped higher education, research, and innovation across the country.

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Announced on the eve of Republic Day, the awards underline the government’s recognition of intellectual leadership and the role of educators in nation-building. This year’s roll of honour places education alongside arts, science, and public service, reaffirming the importance of knowledge as a cornerstone of India’s progress.

Read | Padma Awards 2026 Full List

‘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.

Based on the Padma Awards 2026 list, the following personalities have been conferred awards in the fields of Literature and Education and Science and Engineering:

Padma Awards 2026: Literature and Education

Name	Award	State/Country
P Narayanan	Padma Vibhushan	Kerala
Asok Kumar Haldar	Padma Shri	West Bengal
Charan Hembram	Padma Shri	Odisha
Gambir Singh Yonzone	Padma Shri	West Bengal
Kailash Chandra Pant	Padma Shri	Madhya Pradesh
Liudmila Viktorovna Khokhlova	Padma Shri	Russia
Mahendra Kumar Mishra	Padma Shri	Odisha
Mahendra Nath Roy	Padma Shri	West Bengal
Mamidala Jagadesh Kumar (Former UGC Chief)	Padma Shri	Delhi
Mangala Kapoor	Padma Shri	Uttar Pradesh
Naresh Chandra Dev Varma	Padma Shri	Tripura
Prabhakar Basavprabhu Kore	Padma Shri	Karnataka
Rabilal Tudu	Padma Shri	West Bengal
Ratilal Borisagar	Padma Shri	Gujarat
Prof. Shafi Shauq	Padma Shri	Jammu and Kashmir
Shashi Shekhar Vempati	Padma Shri	Karnataka
Sivasankari	Padma Shri	Tamil Nadu
Vempaty Kutumba Sastry ( Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswathi Viswa Mahavidyalaya Vice Chancellor)	Padma Shri	Andhra Pradesh

Padma Awards 2026: Science and Engineering

Name	Award	State/Country
A E Muthunayagam	Padma Shri	Kerala
Ashok Kumar Singh	Padma Shri	Uttar Pradesh
Chandramouli Gaddamanugu	Padma Shri	Telangana
Gopal Ji Trivedi	Padma Shri	Bihar
Juzer Vasi (IIT-Bombay professor)	Padma Shri	Maharashtra
K Ramasamy (Former Tamil Nadu Agricultural University (TNAU) vice-chancellor)	Padma Shri	Tamil Nadu
Krishnamurty Balasubramanian	Padma Shri	Telangana
Kumarasamy Thangaraj (Hyderabad’s Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology)	Padma Shri	Telangana
Prem Lal Gautam (Chancellor, Rajendra Prasad Central Agricultural University)	Padma Shri	Himachal Pradesh
Shubha Venkatesha Iyengar	Padma Shri	Karnataka
Veezhinathan Kamakoti (IIT Madras)	Padma Shri	Tamil Nadu

IIT Madras director V Kamakoti said, “The Padma Shri Award means only one thing to me. That I will put all my best efforts towards ‘Viksit Bharat @ 2047’. Whatever I have achieved is all because of collective effort, and I dedicate this award to everyone who has been a part of this journey. Jai Hind!”