List of Padma Vibhushan award recipients

The Padma Vibhushan is the second highest civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954,^[1] the award is given for the "exceptional and distinguished service", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The Padma Vibhushan award recipients are announced every year on Republic Day and registered in The Gazette of India—a publication released weekly by the Department of Publication, Ministry of Urban Development used for official government notices.^[2] The conferral of the award is not considered official without its publication in the Gazette. Recipients whose awards have been revoked or restored, both of which require the authority of the President, are also registered in the Gazette and are required to surrender their medals when their names are struck from the register.^[3] As of 2020^[update], none of the conferments of Padma Vibhushan have been revoked or restored. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, the Ministries of the Government, the Bharat Ratna and previous Padma Vibhushan award recipients, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers and the Governors of State, and the Members of Parliament including private individuals. The recommendations received during 1 May and 15 September of every year are submitted to the Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the Prime Minister. The committee recommendations are later submitted to the Prime Minister and the President for the further approval.^[2]

Padma Vibhushan
Padma Vibhushan medal attached with a pink ribbon
Type	National Civilian
Country	India
Presented by	Government of India
Ribbon
Obverse	A centrally located lotus flower is embossed and the text "Padma" written in Devanagari script is placed above and the text "Vibhushan" is placed below the lotus.
Reverse	A platinum Emblem of India placed in the centre with the national motto of India, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script
Established	1954
First award	1954 Satyendra Nath Bose Nandalal Bose Zakir Husain Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher V. K. Krishna Menon Jigme Dorji Wangchuck
Final award	2025 Jagdish Singh Khehar Kumudini Lakhia M. T. Vasudevan Nair (posthumous) D. Nageshwara Reddy Sharda Sinha (posthumous) L. Subramaniam Osamu Suzuki (posthumous)
Total	343
Precedence
Next (higher)	Bharat Ratna
Next (lower)	Padma Bhushan
← Padma Vibhushan "Pahla Varg" (Class I)

When instituted in 1954, the Padma Vibhushan was classified as "Pahla Varg" (Class I) under the three-tier Padma Vibhushan awards; preceded by the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award,^[4] and followed by "Dusra Varg" (Class II), and "Tisra Varg" (Class III).^[1] On 15 January 1955, the Padma Vibhushan was reclassified into three different awards; the Padma Vibhushan, the highest of the three, followed by the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The criteria includes "exceptional and distinguished service in any field including service rendered by Government servants" but excluding those working with the Public sector undertakings with the exception of doctors and scientists. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards but this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute.^[2][3] The award, along with other personal civil honours, was briefly suspended twice in its history;^[5] for the first time in July 1977 when Morarji Desai was sworn in as the fourth Prime Minister.^[6][7] The suspension was rescinded on 25 January 1980, after Indira Gandhi became the Prime Minister.^[8] The civilian awards were suspended again in mid-1992, when two Public-Interest Litigations were filed in the High Courts questioning the civilian awards being "Titles" per an interpretation of Article 18 (1) of the Constitution.^[5][a] The awards were reintroduced by the Supreme Court in December 1995, following the conclusion of the litigation.^[10]

The recipients receive a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President and a medal with no monetary grant associated with the award.^[2] The decoration is a circular-shaped toned bronze medallion 1+3⁄4 inches (44 mm) in diameter and 1⁄8 inch (3.2 mm) thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of 1+3⁄16 inches (30 mm) side is embossed with a knob embossed within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of diameter 1+1⁄16 inches (27 mm) is placed at the centre of the decoration. A centrally located lotus flower is embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma" written in Devanagari script is placed above and the text "Vibhushan" is placed below the lotus. The Emblem of India is placed in the centre of the reverse side with the national motto, "Satyameva Jayate" (Truth alone triumphs) in Devanagari Script, inscribed on the lower edge. The rim, the edges and all embossing on either side is of white gold with the text "Padma Vibhushan" of silver gilt. The medal is suspended by a pink riband 1+1⁄4 inches (32 mm) in width.^[3] It is ranked fourth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations.^[11]

The first recipients of the Padma Vibhushan were Satyendra Nath Bose, Nandalal Bose, Zakir Husain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, V. K. Krishna Menon, and Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, who were honoured in 1954. As of 2025^[update], the award has been bestowed on 343 individuals, including thirty-two posthumous and twenty-five non-citizen recipients.^[12] Some of the recipients have refused or returned their awards; P. N. Haksar,^[b] Vilayat Khan,^[c] E. M. S. Namboodiripad,^[d] Swami Ranganathananda,^[e] and Manikonda Chalapathi Rau refused the award; the family members of Lakshmi Chand Jain (2011) and Sharad Anantrao Joshi (2016) declined their posthumous conferments,^[f][g] and 1986 recipient Baba Amte and 2015 recipient Parkash Singh Badal returned theirs honour in 1991 and 2020 respectively.^{[21][h][23][i]} The 2025 award was bestowed upon seven recipients – D. Nageshwara Reddy, Jagdish Singh Khehar, Kumudini Lakhia, L. Subramaniam, M. T. Vasudevan Nair (posthumous), Osamu Suzuki (posthumous) and Sharda Sinha (posthumous).^[24]

Recipients

Award recipients by year[12] Year Number of recipients 1954–1959 17 1960–1969 27 1970–1979 53 1980–1989 20 1990–1999 42 2000–2009 86 2010–2019 62 2020–2029 31	Award recipients by field[12] Field Number of recipients Arts 67 Civil Service 53 Literature & Education 43 Medicine 16 Others 8 Public Affairs 79 Science & Engineering 37 Social Work 18 Sports 4 Trade & Industry 13

• 1954
• 1960
• 1970
• 1980
• 1990
• 2000
• 2010
• 2020

Key

+ Naturalised citizen recipient

* Non-citizen recipient

# Posthumous recipient

Year	Image	Laureates	Field	State / Country[12]
1954		Satyendra Nath Bose (1894–1974)	Science & Engineering	West Bengal
1954		Nandalal Bose (1882–1966)	Arts	West Bengal
1954		Zakir Husain (1897–1969)	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
1954		B. G. Kher (1888–1957)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1954		V. K. Krishna Menon (1896–1974)	Public Affairs	Kerala
1954		Jigme Dorji Wangchuck* (1928–1972)	Public Affairs	Bhutan
1955		Dhondo Keshav Karve (1858–1962)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1955		J. R. D. Tata (1904–1993)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
1956		Fazl Ali (1886–1959)	Public Affairs	Bihar
1956		Janaki Devi Bajaj (1893–1979)	Social Work	Madhya Pradesh
1956		Chandulal Madhavlal Trivedi (1893–1980)	Public Affairs	Madhya Pradesh
1957		Ghanshyam Das Birla (1894–1983)	Trade & Industry	Rajasthan
1957		Sri Prakasa (1890–1971)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
1957		M. C. Setalvad (1884–1974)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1958	No awards
1959		John Matthai (1886–1959)	Literature & Education	Kerala
1959		Gaganvihari Lallubhai Mehta (1900–1974)	Social Work	Maharashtra
1959		Radhabinod Pal (1886–1967)	Public Affairs	West Bengal
1960		Narayana Raghvan Pillai (1898–1992)	Public Affairs	Tamil Nadu
1961	No awards
1962		H. V. R. Iyengar (1902–1978)	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
1962		Padmaja Naidu (1900–1975)	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
1962		Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit (1900–1990)	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
1963		Suniti Kumar Chatterji (1890–1977)	Literature & Education	West Bengal
1963		A. Lakshmanaswami Mudaliar (1887–1974)	Medicine	Tamil Nadu
1963		Hari Vinayak Pataskar (1892–1970)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1964		Acharya Kakasaheb Kalelkar (1885–1981)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1964		Gopinath Kaviraj (1887–1976)	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
1965		General Jayanto Nath Chaudhuri (1908–1983)	Civil Service	West Bengal
1965		Mehdi Nawaz Jung (1894–1967)	Public Affairs	Telangana
1965		Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh DFC (1919–2017)	Civil Service	Delhi
1966		Valerian Gracias (1900–1978)	Social Work	Maharashtra
1967		C. K. Daphtary (1893–1983)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1967		Hafiz Mohamad Ibrahim (1889–1968)	Civil Service	Andhra Pradesh
1967		Bhola Nath Jha	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
1967		P. V. R. Rao	Civil Service	Andhra Pradesh
1968		Madhav Shrihari Aney (1880–1968)	Public Affairs	Madhya Pradesh
1968		Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar* (1910–1995)	Science & Engineering	United States
1968		Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis (1893–1972)	Literature & Education	Delhi
1968		Kirpal Singh (1894–1974)	Civil Service	Delhi
1968		Kalyan Sundaram (1904–1992)	Public Affairs	Delhi
1969		Rajeshwar Dayal (1909–1999)	Civil Service	Delhi
1969		Dattatraya Shridhar Joshi	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1969		Har Gobind Khorana* (1922–2011)	Literature & Education	United States
1969		Mohan Sinha Mehta (1895–1986)	Civil Service	Rajasthan
1969		Ghananand Pande (1902–1995)	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
1970		Tara Chand (1888–1973)	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
1970		Group Captain Suranjan Das# (1920–1970)[i]	Civil Service	West Bengal
1970		Anthony Lancelot Dias (1910–2002)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1970		General Paramasiva Prabhakar Kumaramangalam DSO MBE (1913–2000)	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
1970		A. Ramasamy Mudaliar (1913–2000)	Civil Service	Andhra Pradesh
1970		Binay Ranjan Sen (1898–1993)	Civil Service	West Bengal
1970		Lieutenant General Harbaksh Singh VrC (1913–1999)	Civil Service	Punjab
1971		Bimala Prasad Chaliha (1912–1971)	Civil Service	Assam
1971		Allauddin Khan (1862–1972)	Arts	West Bengal
1971		Sumati Morarjee (1909–1998)	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1971		Uday Shankar (1900–1977)	Arts	Maharashtra
1971		Vithal Nagesh Shirodkar (1899–1971)	Medicine	Goa
1971		B. Sivaraman	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
1972		P. Balacharya Gajendragadkar (1901–1981)	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1972		Aditya Nath Jha# (1911–1972)	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
1972		Air Chief Marshal Pratap Chandra Lal DFC (1916–1982)	Civil Service	Punjab
1972		Field Marshal Sam Manekshaw MC (1914–2008)	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
1972		Jivraj Narayan Mehta (1887–1978)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1972		Admiral Sardarilal Mathradas Nanda PVSM AVSM (1915–2009)	Civil Service	Delhi
1972		Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq# (1912–1971)[ii]	Public Affairs	Jammu and Kashmir
1972		Vikram Sarabhai# (1919–1971)[iii]	Science & Engineering	Gujarat
1972		Hormasji Maneckji Seervai (1906–1996)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1973		Basanti Devi (1880–1974)	Civil Service	West Bengal
1973		U. N. Dhebar (1905–1977)	Social Work	Gujarat
1973		Daulat Singh Kothari (1906–1993)	Science & Engineering	Delhi
1973		Nellie Sengupta (1884–1973)	Social Work	West Bengal
1973		Nagendra Singh (1914–1988)	Public Affairs	Rajasthan
1973		Thirumalraya Swaminathan	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
1974		Niren De	Public Affairs	West Bengal
1974		Benode Behari Mukherjee (1904–1980)	Arts	West Bengal
1974		V. K. R. V. Rao (1908–1991)	Civil Service	Karnataka
1974		Harish Chandra Sarin (1914–1997)	Civil Service	Delhi
1975		C. D. Deshmukh (1896–1982)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1975		Durgabai Deshmukh (1909–1981)	Social Work	Andhra Pradesh
1975		Mary Clubwala Jadhav (1909–1975)	Social Work	Tamil Nadu
1975		Basanti Dulal Nagchaudhuri (1917–2006)	Literature & Education	West Bengal
1975		Raja Ramanna (1925–2004)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
1975		Homi Nusserwanji Sethna (1923–2010)	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1975		M. S. Subbulakshmi (1916–2004)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
1975		Premlila Vithaldas Thackersey (1894–1977)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1976		Salim Ali (1896–1987)	Science & Engineering	Uttar Pradesh
1976		Gurmukh Singh Musafir (1899–1976)	Literature & Education	Punjab
1976		K. Shankar Pillai (1899–1976)	Arts	Delhi
1976		K. R. Ramanathan (1893–1984)	Science & Engineering	Kerala
1976		Satyajit Ray (1921–1992)	Arts	West Bengal
1976		Kalu Lal Shrimali (1909–2000)	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
1976		Bashir Hussain Zaidi (1898–1992)	Literature & Education	Delhi
1977		T. Balasaraswati (1918–1984)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
1977		Ali Yavar Jung# (1906–1976)[iv]	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
1977		Ajudhia Nath Khosla (1892–1984)	Civil Service	Delhi
1977		Air Chief Marshal Om Prakash Mehra PVSM (1919–2015)	Civil Service	Punjab
1977		Ajoy Kumar Mukherjee (1901–1986)	Public Affairs	West Bengal
1977		Chandeshwar Prasad Narayan Singh (1901–1994)	Literature & Education	Delhi
1978	Awards suspended
1979
1980		Bismillah Khan (1916–2006)	Arts	Uttar Pradesh
1980		Rai Krishnadasa	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
1981		Satish Dhawan (1920–2002)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
1981		Ravi Shankar (1920–2012)	Arts	Uttar Pradesh
1982		Mirabehn (1892–1982)	Social Work	United Kingdom
1983	No awards
1984
1985		C. N. R. Rao (born 1934)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
1985		M. G. K. Menon (1928–2016)	Civil Service	Kerala
1986		Baba Amte (1914–2008)	Social Work	Maharashtra
1986		Birju Maharaj (1938–2022)	Arts	Delhi
1986		Autar Singh Paintal (1925–2004)	Medicine	Delhi
1987		Kamaladevi Chattopadhyay (1903–1988)	Social Work	Karnataka
1987		Benjamin Peary Pal (1906–1989)	Science & Technology	Punjab
1987		Manmohan Singh (1932–2024)	Civil Service	Delhi
1987		General Arun Shridhar Vaidya# PVSM AVSM ADC (1926–1986)[v]	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1988		Mirza Hameedullah Beg (1913–1988)	Public Affairs	Delhi
1988		Kuvempu (1904–1994)	Literature & Education	Karnataka
1988		Mahadevi Varma# (1907–1987)[vi]	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
1989		Uma Shankar Dikshit (1901–1991)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
1989		Ali Akbar Khan (1922–2009)	Arts	West Bengal
1989		M. S. Swaminathan (1925–2023)	Science & Technology	Tamil Nadu
1990		V. S. R. Arunachalam (1935–2023)	Literature & Education	Delhi
1990		Triloki Nath Chaturvedi (1928–2020)	Civil Service	Karnataka
1990		Bhabatosh Datta (1911–1997)	Literature & Education	West Bengal
1990		Kumar Gandharva (1924–1992)	Arts	Madhya Pradesh
1990		A. P. J. Abdul Kalam (1931–2015)	Science & Engineering	Tamil Nadu
1991		Semmangudi Srinivasa Iyer (1908–2003)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
1991		M. Balamuralikrishna (1930–2016)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
1991		M. F. Husain (1915–2011)	Arts	Maharashtra
1991		Hirendranath Mukherjee (1907–2004)	Public Affairs	West Bengal
1991		Gulzarilal Nanda (1898–1999)	Public Affairs	Gujarat
1991		I. G. Patel (1924–2005)	Science & Engineering	Gujarat
1991		N. G. Ranga (1900–1995)	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
1991		Khusro Faramurz Rustamji	Civil Service	Maharashtra
1991		Rajaram Shastri (1904–1991)	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
1992		Aruna Asaf Ali (1909–1996)	Social Work	Delhi
1992		Lakshman Shastri Joshi (1901–1994)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1992		Mallikarjun Mansur (1910–1992)	Arts	Karnataka
1992		S. I. Padmavati (1917–2020)	Medicine	Delhi
1992		Kaloji Narayana Rao (1914–2002)	Arts	Telangana
1992		Ravi Narayana Reddy# (1908–1991)[vii]	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
1992		V. Shantaram# (1901–1990)[viii]	Arts	Maharashtra
1992		Govindbhai Shroff (1911–2002)	Literature & Education	Maharashtra
1992		Swaran Singh (1907–1994)	Public Affairs	Punjab
1992		Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1924–2018)	Public Affairs	Delhi
1993	Awards suspended
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998		Usha Mehta (1920–2000)	Social Work	Maharashtra
1998		Nanabhoy Palkhivala (1920–2002)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
1998		Lakshmi Sahgal (1914–2012)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
1998		Walter Sisulu* (1912–2003)	Public Affairs	South Africa
1999		Pandurang Shastri Athavale (1920–2003)	Social Work	Maharashtra
1999		Rajagopala Chidambaram (1936–2025)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
1999		Nanaji Deshmukh (1916–2010)	Social Work	Delhi
1999		Sarvepalli Gopal (1923–2002)	Literature & Education	Tamil Nadu
1999		Satish Gujral (1925–2000)	Arts	Delhi
1999		V. R. Krishna Iyer (1915–2014)	Public Affairs	Kerala
1999		Bhimsen Joshi (1922–2011)	Arts	Maharashtra
1999		Hans Raj Khanna (1912–2008)	Public Affairs	Delhi
1999		Verghese Kurien (1921–2012)	Science & Technology	Gujarat
1999		Lata Mangeshkar (1929–2022)	Arts	Maharashtra
1999		Braj Kumar Nehru (1909–2001)	Civil Service	Himachal Pradesh
1999		D. K. Pattammal (1919–2009)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
1999		Lallan Prasad Singh# (1912–1998)[ix]	Civil Service	Delhi
1999		Dharma Vira (1906–2000)	Civil Service	Delhi
2000		Sikander Bakht (1918–2004)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2000		Jagdish Bhagwati* (born 1934)	Literature & Education	United States
2000		Hariprasad Chaurasia (born 1938)	Arts	Maharashtra
2000		M. S. Gill (1936–2023)	Civil Service	Delhi
2000		Krishnaswamy Kasturirangan (1940–2025)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
2000		K. B. Lall (1917–2005)	Civil Service	Delhi
2000		Kelucharan Mohapatra (1926–2004)	Arts	Odisha
2000		Jasraj Motiram (1930–2020)	Arts	Maharashtra
2000		M. Narasimham (1927–2021)	Trade & Industry	Andhra Pradesh
2000		R. K. Narayan (1906–2001)	Literature & Education	Tamil Nadu
2000		Bhairab Dutt Pande (1917–2009)	Civil Service	Uttar Pradesh
2000		K. N. Raj (1924–2010)	Literature & Education	Kerala
2000		Tarlok Singh	Civil Service	Delhi
2001		John Kenneth Galbraith* (1908–2006)	Literature & Education	United States
2001		Benjamin Gilman* (1922–2016)	Public Affairs	United States
2001		Amjad Ali Khan (born 1945)	Arts	Delhi
2001		Zubin Mehta* (born 1936)	Arts	United States
2001		Hrishikesh Mukherjee (1922–2006)	Arts	Maharashtra
2001		K. Satchidananda Murty (1924–2011)	Literature & Education	Andhra Pradesh
2001		Chakravarthi V. Narasimhan (1915–2003)	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
2001		Hosei Norota* (1929–2019)	Public Affairs	Japan
2001		C. R. Rao (1920–2023)	Science & Engineering	United States
2001		Man Mohan Sharma (born 1937)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
2001		Shivkumar Sharma (1938–2022)	Arts	Maharashtra
2002		Kishori Amonkar (1932–2017)	Arts	Maharashtra
2002		Gangubai Hangal (1913–2009)	Arts	Karnataka
2002		Kishan Maharaj (1923–2008)	Arts	Uttar Pradesh
2002		C. Rangarajan (born 1932)	Literature & Education	Tamil Nadu
2002		Soli Sorabjee (1930–2021)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2003		Kazi Lhendup Dorjee (1904–2007)	Public Affairs	West Bengal
2003		Sonal Mansingh (born 1944)	Arts	Delhi
2003		Bal Ram Nanda (1917–2010)	Literature & Education	Delhi
2003		Brihaspati Dev Triguna (1920–2013)	Medicine	Delhi
2004		Jayant Narlikar (born 1938)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
2004		Amrita Pritam (1919–2005)	Literature & Education	Delhi
2004		M. N. Venkatachaliah (born 1925)	Public Affairs	Karnataka
2005		Milon K. Banerji (1928–2010)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2005		Mohan Dharia (1925–2013)	Social Work	Maharashtra
2005		Jyotindra Nath Dixit# (1936–2005)[x]	Civil Service	Delhi
2005		B. K. Goyal (1935–2018)	Medicine	Maharashtra
2005		R. K. Laxman (1921–2015)	Arts	Maharashtra
2005		Ram Narayan (1927–2024)	Arts	Maharashtra
2005		Karan Singh (born 1931)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2005		M. S. Valiathan (1934–2024)	Medicine	Delhi
2006		Norman Borlaug* (1914–2009)	Science & Engineering	United States
2006		Charles Correa (1930–2015)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
2006		Nirmala Deshpande (1929–2008)	Social Work	Delhi
2006		Mahasweta Devi (1926–2016)	Literature & Education	West Bengal
2006		Adoor Gopalakrishnan (born 1941)	Arts	Kerala
2006		V. N. Khare (born 1934)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2006		C. R. Krishnaswamy Rao (1927–2013)	Civil Service	Tamil Nadu
2006		Obaid Siddiqi (1932–2013)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
2006		Prakash Narain Tandon (born 1928)	Medicine	Delhi
2007		P. N. Bhagwati (1921–2017)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2007		Naresh Chandra (1934–2017)	Civil Service	Delhi
2007		Raja Chelliah (1922–2009)	Public Affairs	Tamil Nadu
2007		V. Krishnamurthy (1925–2022)	Civil Service	Delhi
2007		Fali Sam Nariman (1929–2024)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2007		Raja Rao*# (1908–2006)[xi]	Literature & Education	United States
2007		Balu Sankaran (1926–2012)	Medicine	Delhi
2007		Khushwant Singh (1915–2014)	Literature & Education	Delhi
2007		E. C. George Sudarshan* (1931–2018)	Science & Engineering	United States
2007		Narinder Nath Vohra (born 1936)	Civil Service	Haryana
2008		Adarsh Sein Anand (1936–2017)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2008		Viswanathan Anand (born 1969)	Sports	Tamil Nadu
2008		Asha Bhosle (born 1933)	Arts	Maharashtra
2008		P. N. Dhar (1919–2012)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2008		Edmund Hillary*# (1919–2008)[xii]	Sports	New Zealand
2008		Lakshmi Mittal* (born 1950)	Trade & Industry	United Kingdom
2008		Pranab Mukherjee (1935–2020)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2008		N. R. Narayana Murthy (born 1946)	Trade & Industry	Karnataka
2008		Prithvi Raj Singh Oberoi (1929–2023)	Trade & Industry	Delhi
2008		Rajendra K. Pachauri (1940–2020)	Science & Engineering	Delhi
2008		E. Sreedharan (born 1932)	Science & Engineering	Delhi
2008		Ratan Tata (1937–2024)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
2008		Sachin Tendulkar (born 1973)	Sports	Maharashtra
2009		Sunderlal Bahuguna (1927–2021)	Others	Uttarakhand
2009		Jasbir Singh Bajaj (1936–2019)	Medicine	Punjab
2009		D. P. Chattopadhyaya (1933–2022)	Literature & Education	West Bengal
2009		Ashok Sekhar Ganguly (born 1935)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
2009		Nirmala Joshi (1934–2015)	Social Work	West Bengal
2009		Anil Kakodkar (born 1943)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
2009		Purshotam Lal (born 1954)	Medicine	Uttar Pradesh
2009		G. Madhavan Nair (born 1943)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
2009		Govind Narain (1916–2012)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2009		Chandrika Prasad Srivastava (1920–2013)	Civil Service	Maharashtra
2010		Ebrahim Alkazi (1925–2020)	Arts	Delhi
2010		Venkatraman Ramakrishnan* (born 1952)	Science & Technology	United Kingdom
2010		Prathap C. Reddy (born 1933)	Trade & Industry	Andhra Pradesh
2010		Y. Venugopal Reddy (born 1941)	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
2010		Zohra Sehgal (1912–2014)	Arts	Delhi
2010		Umayalpuram K. Sivaraman (born 1937)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2011		Montek Singh Ahluwalia (born 1943)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2011		Vijay Kelkar (born 1942)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
2011		Akhlaqur Rahman Kidwai (1921–2016)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2011		O. N. V. Kurup (1931–2016)	Literature & Education	Kerala
2011		Sitakant Mahapatra (born 1937)	Literature & Education	Odisha
2011		Brajesh Mishra (1928–2012)	Civil Service	Delhi
2011		K. Parasaran (born 1927)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2011		Azim Premji (born 1945)	Trade & Industry	Karnataka
2011		Palle Rama Rao (born 1937)	Science & Engineering	Andhra Pradesh
2011		Akkineni Nageswara Rao (1923–2014)	Arts	Andhra Pradesh
2011		Kapila Vatsyayan (1928–2020)	Arts	Delhi
2011		Homai Vyarawalla (1913–2012)	Arts	Gujarat
2012		Bhupen Hazarika# (1926–2011)[xiii]	Arts	Assam
2012		Mario Miranda# (1926–2011)[xiv]	Arts	Goa
2012		T. V. Rajeswar (1926–2018)	Civil Service	Delhi
2012		Kantilal Hastimal Sancheti (born 1936)	Medicine	Maharashtra
2012		K. G. Subramanyan (1924–2016)	Arts	Gujarat
2013		Raghunath Mohapatra (1943–2021)	Arts	Odisha
2013		Roddam Narasimha (1933–2020)	Science & Technology	Karnataka
2013		Yash Pal (1926–2017)	Science & Technology	Uttar Pradesh
2013		S. H. Raza (1922–2016)	Arts	Delhi
2014		B. K. S. Iyengar (1918–2014)	Others	Maharashtra
2014		Raghunath Anant Mashelkar (born 1943)	Science & Engineering	Maharashtra
2015		L. K. Advani (born 1927)	Public Affairs	Gujarat
2015		Amitabh Bachchan (born 1942)	Arts	Maharashtra
2015		Parkash Singh Badal (1927–2023)	Public Affairs	Punjab
2015		Veerendra Heggade (born 1948)	Social Work	Karnataka
2015		Dilip Kumar (1922–2021)	Arts	Maharashtra
2015		Rambhadracharya (born 1950)	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
2015		M. R. Srinivasan (born 1930)	Science & Technology	Tamil Nadu
2015		Kottayan Katankot Venugopal (born 1931)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2015		Karim Al Hussaini Aga Khan* (1936–2025)	Social Work	United Kingdom/ France
2016		V. K. Aatre (born 1939)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
2016		Dhirubhai Ambani# (1932–2002)[xv]	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
2016		Girija Devi (1929–2017)	Arts	West Bengal
2016		Avinash Dixit* (born 1944)	Literature & Education	United States
2016		Jagmohan (1927–2021)	Public Affairs	Delhi
2016		Yamini Krishnamurthy (1940–2024)	Arts	Delhi
2016		Rajinikanth (born 1950)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2016		Ramoji Rao (1936–2024)	Literature & Education	Andhra Pradesh
2016		Sri Sri Ravi Shankar (born 1956)	Others	Karnataka
2016		V. Shanta (1927–2021)	Medicine	Tamil Nadu
2017		Murli Manohar Joshi (born 1934)	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2017		Sunder Lal Patwa# (1924–2016)[xvi]	Public Affairs	Madhya Pradesh
2017		Sharad Pawar (born 1940)	Public Affairs	Maharashtra
2017		Udupi Ramachandra Rao (1932–2017)	Science & Engineering	Karnataka
2017		P. A. Sangma (1947–2016)[xvii]	Public Affairs	Meghalaya
2017		Jaggi Vasudev (born 1957)	Others	Tamil Nadu
2017		K. J. Yesudas (born 1940)	Arts	Kerala
2018		Ilaiyaraaja (born 1943)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2018		Ghulam Mustafa Khan (1931–2021)	Arts	Maharashtra
2018		P. Parameswaran (1927–2020)	Literature & Education	Kerala
2019		Teejan Bai (born 1956)	Arts	Chhattisgarh
2019		Ismaïl Omar Guelleh* (born 1946)	Public Affairs	Djibouti
2019		Anil Manibhai Naik (born 1942)	Trade & Industry	Maharashtra
2019		Balwant Moreshwar Purandare (1922–2021)	Arts	Maharashtra
2020		George Fernandes# (1930–2019)[xviii]	Public Affairs	Bihar
2020		Arun Jaitley# (1952–2019)[xix]	Public Affairs	Delhi
2020		Anerood Jugnauth* (1930–2021)	Public Affairs	Mauritius
2020		M. C. Mary Kom (born 1982)	Sports	Manipur
2020		Chhannulal Mishra (born 1936)	Arts	Uttar Pradesh
2020		Sushma Swaraj# (1952–2019)[xx]	Public Affairs	Delhi
2020		Vishwesha Teertha# (1931–2019)[xxi]	Others	Karnataka
2021		Shinzo Abe* (1954–2022)	Public Affairs	Japan
2021		S. P. Balasubrahmanyam# (1946–2020)[xxii]	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2021		Belle Monappa Hegde (born 1938)	Medicine	Karnataka
2021		Narinder Singh Kapany*# (1926–2020)[xxiii]	Science & Engineering	United States
2021		Wahiduddin Khan (1925–2021)	Others	Delhi
2021		B. B. Lal (1921–2022)	Others	Delhi
2021		Sudarshan Sahoo (born 1939)	Arts	Odisha
2022		Prabha Atre (1932–2024)	Arts	Maharashtra
2022		Radheshyam Khemka# (1935–2021)[xxiv]	Literature & Education	Uttar Pradesh
2022		General Bipin Rawat# PVSM UYSM AVSM YSM SM VSM ADC (1958–2021)[xxv]	Civil Service	Uttarakhand
2022		Kalyan Singh# (1932–2021)[xxvi]	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2023		Balkrishna Vithaldas Doshi# (1927–2023)[xxvii]	Others	Gujarat
2023		Zakir Hussain (1951–2024)	Arts	Maharashtra
2023		S. M. Krishna (1932–2024)	Public Affairs	Karnataka
2023		Dilip Mahalanabis# (1934–2022)[xxviii]	Medicine	West Bengal
2023		S. R. Srinivasa Varadhan* (born 1940)	Science & Engineering	United States
2023		Mulayam Singh Yadav# (1939–2022)[xxix]	Public Affairs	Uttar Pradesh
2024		Vyjayanthimala (born 1933)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2024		Chiranjeevi (born 1955)	Arts	Andhra Pradesh
2024		Venkaiah Naidu (born 1949)	Public Affairs	Andhra Pradesh
2024		Bindeshwar Pathak# (1943–2023)[xxx]	Social Work	Bihar
2024		Padma Subrahmanyam (born 1943)	Arts	Tamil Nadu
2025		D. Nageshwara Reddy (born 1956)	Medicine	Telangana
2025		Jagdish Singh Khehar (born 1952)	Public Affairs	Chandigarh
2025		Kumudini Lakhia (1930–2025)	Arts	Gujarat
2025		L. Subramaniam (born 1947)	Arts	Karnataka
2025		M. T. Vasudevan Nair# (1933–2024)[xxxi]	Literature & Education	Kerala
2025		Osamu Suzuki*# (1930–2024)[xxxii]	Trade & Industry	Japan
2025		Sharda Sinha# (1952–2024)[xxxiii]	Arts	Bihar

Explanatory notes

1. Per Article 18 (1) of the Constitution of India: Abolition of titles, "no title, not being a military or academic distinction, shall be conferred by the State".^[7][9]
2. P. N. Haksar was offered the award in 1973 for, among other services, his crucial diplomatic role in brokering the Indo-Soviet Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation and the Shimla Agreement, but declined as "Accepting an award for work done somehow causes an inexplicable discomfort to me."^[13]
3. Vilayat Khan refused Padma Shri (1964), Padma Bhushan (1968), and Padma Vibhushan (2000) and stated that "the selection committees were incompetent to judge [his] music".^[14][15]
4. E. M. S. Namboodiripad, the General Secretary of the Communist Party of India (of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) from 1964) and the first Chief Minister of Kerala (1957-59, 1967-69), declined the award in 1992, as it went against his nature to accept a state honour.^[16]
5. Swami Ranganathananda declined the award in 2000 as it was conferred to him as an individual and not to the Ramakrishna Mission.^[15][17]
6. Lakshmi Chand Jain died on 14 November 2010, at the age of 84.^[18] His family refused to accept the posthumous honour as Jain was against accepting state honours.^[19]
7. Sharad Anantrao Joshi's family refused to accept the posthumous honour as Joshi's work for good of farmers is not reflected in the Government policies for them.^[20]
8. In 1991, Baba Amte returned the award, along with the Padma Shri conferred in 1971, to protest against the treatment given to the tribals during the construction of Sardar Sarovar Dam.^[22]
9. In 2020, Parkash Singh Badal returned the award in solidarity with the farmers protest.

Posthumous recipients

1. Suranjan Das died on 10 January 1970, at the age of 49.
2. Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq died on 12 December 1971, at the age of 59.^[25]
3. Vikram Sarabhai died on 30 December 1971, at the age of 52.^[26]
4. Ali Yavar Jung died on 11 December 1976, at the age of 70.
5. Arun Shridhar Vaidya was assassinated by Sikh extremists on 10 August 1986.^[27]
6. Mahadevi Varma died on 11 September 1987, at the age of 80.
7. Ravi Narayana Reddy died on 9 September 1991, at the age of 83.
8. V. Shantaram died on 30 October 1990, at the age of 88.
9. Lallan Prasad Singh died on 9 November 1998, at the age of 86.^[28]
10. Jyotindra Nath Dixit died on 3 January 2005, at the age of 68.^[29]
11. Raja Rao died on 8 July 2006, at the age of 97.^[30]
12. Edmund Hillary died on 11 January 2008, at the age of 88.^[31]
13. Bhupen Hazarika died on 5 November 2011, at the age of 85.^[32]
14. Mario Miranda died on 11 December 2011, at the age of 85.^[33]
15. Dhirubhai Ambani died on 6 July 2002, at the age of 69.^[34]
16. Sunder Lal Patwa died on 28 December 2016, at the age of 92.^[35]
17. P. A. Sangma died on 4 March 2016, at the age of 68.^[36]
18. George Fernandes died on 29 January 2019, at the age of 88.^[37]
19. Arun Jaitley died on 24 August 2019, at the age of 66.^[38]
20. Sushma Swaraj died on 6 August 2019, at the age of 67.^[39]
21. Vishwesha Teertha died on 29 December 2019, at the age of 88.^[40]
22. S. P. Balasubrahmanyam died on 25 September 2020, at the age of 74.
23. Narinder Singh Kapany died on 4 December 2020, at the age of 94.
24. Radheshyam Khemka died on 4 April 2021, at the age of 86.^[41]
25. General Bipin Rawat died on 8 December 2021, at the age of 63.
26. Kalyan Singh died on 21 August 2021, at the age of 89.^[42]
27. Balakrishna Doshi died on 24 January 2023, at the age of 95.^[43]
28. Dilip Mahalanabis died on 16 October 2022, at the age of 87.^[44]
29. Mulayam Singh Yadav died on 10 October 2022, at the age of 82.^[45]
30. Bindeshwar Pathak died on 15 August 2023, at the age of 80.
31. M. T. Vasudevan Nair died on 25 December 2024, at the age of 91.^[46]
32. Osamu Suzuki died on 25 December 2024, at the age of 94.^[47]
33. Sharda Sinha died on 5 November 2024, at the age of 72.^[48]