Padma Awards 2025, Full List: Former Suzuki chief, Sushil Modi, R Ashwin, and Arijit Singh among awardees

Of the 139 names announced, the highest number of awardees were in the category of arts (51), followed by literature and education (26), trade and industry (10) and medicine (10). Twenty-three of the awardees are women, while 10 are from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO or OCI. Thirteen have been honoured posthumously.

Apart from Suzuki and Khehar, other Padma Vibhushan awardees are folk legend Sharda Sinha (posthumous), known for her repertoire in Maithili, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Sanskrit and Hindi, gastroenterologist Dr D Nageshwar Reddy, Malayalam writer Madath Thekkepat Vasudevan Nair, violin virtuoso L Subramaniam, and Kathak dancer Kumudini Lakhia.

“Prime Minister Narendra Modi has reimagined the Padma Awards as a platform to honour the iconic personalities who have empowered and elevated communities to progress. I firmly believe that this honour will stir our society with a new zest for nation-building,” Home Minister Amit Shah said.

Suzuki is credited with partnering with the Indian government in 1981 to form Maruti Udyog Ltd when India was still a closed, license-controlled economy.

Khehar, the first Sikh Chief Justice of India, retired as a Supreme Court judge in August 2017 after a tenure of over six years. During his time on the bench, he presided over several significant cases, including the Ayodhya title dispute case, where he proposed to mediate an out-of-court settlement to the dispute.

Folk legend Sharda Sinha, often called “Bihar Kokila (cuckoo)”, was known for songs that would be played at Chhath, weddings, and other rituals. She also lent her voice to songs in Bollywood movies such as Maine Pyar Kiya and Gangs of Wasseypur.

One of Kerala’s most celebrated writers, M T Vasudevan Nair, or MT as he is popularly known, had a career that spanned more than seven decades. He won various state, national and international laurels, starting with the Kerala Sahitya Akademi Award for his debut novel, Naalukettu, in 1959 at the age of 23.

Dr Reddy, a renowned gastroenterologist whose research has focussed on advanced GI endoscopy, is the founder and chairman of the Asian Institute of Gastroenterology in Hyderabad. He has previously received the Padma Shri (2002) and Padma Bhushan (2016).

Also on this year’s Padma Bhushan list are Tamil actor S Ajith Kumar, veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, author-journalist and former Prasar Bharati chairman A Surya Prakash, veteran journalist Rambahadur Rai, who worked with Jansatta and was a member of PMML Society, and Sadhvi Ritambhara, founder of the Param Shakti Peeth and Vatsalyagram who is known for her role in the Ram temple movement.

The Padma Shri list also recognised individuals who contributed across a broad spectrum. The recipients include 100-year-old Libia Lobo Sardesai, the underground voice of Goa’s liberation struggle, 82-year-old American-born Sally Holkar, who spent five decades reviving the Maheshwari handloom industry, and 43-year-old archer Harvinder Singh, the first Indian archer to win a gold medal in the Paralympics.

“As a youngster, I would often read about Milkha Singh sir having the title Padma Shri title to his name. When I started archery, I would read about archer Tarundeep Rai being bestowed with the title. To be chosen for the Padma Shri is a special feeling, and being the first Para archer to be given the honour will not only motivate me but also para archers across the country,” Dhanju told The Indian Express from Delhi.

Libia Sardesai, the oldest in this year’s Padma Shri, told The Indian Express. “I am as happy as I was on the day Goa was liberated from Portuguese rule.”