As many as 14 personalities from Tamil Nadu have been selected for the prestigious Padma Awards announced by the Union Government on Sunday evening. While three of the 13 Padma Bhushan awardees are from the State, 11 out of the 113 Padma Shri recipients hail from Tamil Nadu.None from the State was chosen for the Padma Vibhushan, which is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service. The Padma Bhushan recognises distinguished service of a high order, while the Padma Shri is given for distinguished service in any field. The awards cover a wide range of disciplines, including art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports and civil service.
The Padma Awards are announced every year on the occasion of Republic Day and are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually during March or April. For the year 2026, the President has approved 131 Padma Awards, including two duo cases, which are counted as a single award. One of the duo awardees is from Tamil Nadu.
Among the Padma Bhushan recipients from Tamil Nadu are Kallipatti Ramasamy Palanisamy for Medicine and S.K. Maeilanandhan for Social Work. Former Indian Davis Cup player and Tamil Nadu Tennis Association president Vijay Amritraj has also been selected for the Padma Bhushan in the Sports category, though he has been listed under the USA.
In the Padma Shri list, 11 personalities linked to Tamil Nadu have been recognised. They include Gayatri Balasubramanian and Ranjani Balasubramanian (Duo) in the Art category, former AIADMK Minister H.V. Hande for Medicine, K. Ramasamy for Science and Engineering, and former IPS officer K. Vijayakumar, known for leading the operations against forest brigand Veerappan, in the Civil Service category.
Other Padma Shri awardees from the State include Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan, R. Krishnan (posthumous), Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar, Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam in the Art category, Dr. Punniamurthy Natesan for Medicine, Sivashankari, noted writer, for Literature and Education, and Veezhinathan Kamakoti, Director of IIT-Madras, for Science and Engineering.