President Droupadi Murmu, Vice President CP Radhakrishnan, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and others during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

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

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

Rajam was honoured for her pioneering contribution to Indian classical music, especially for revolutionising violin performance through the ‘Gayaki Ang’ style that replicates vocal music on the instrument.

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

She also conferred 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 the ceremony on Monday, she conferred two Padma Vibhushan, six Padma Bhushan and 58 Padma Shri.

The remaining Padma awardees will be conferred in the second round of the ceremony to be held later, sources said

President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Vibhushan to veteran actor Dharmendra posthumously, received by BJP MP Hema Malini on his behalf, during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on actor Prosenjit Chatterjee during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan)(PTI05_25_2026_000311B)

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on cultural activist from Arunachal Pradesh, Techi Gubin, during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan)(PTI05_25_2026_000322A)

President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on Indian women’s cricket team captain Harmanpreet Kaur during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on social worker Ramchandra Godbole during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and others during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on folk dancer Guru Bishwa (Vishwa) Bandhu posthumously, received by the latter’s wife Indu Kumari on his behalf, during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026.

New Delhi: President Droupadi Murmu confers the Padma Shri on Kuchipudi dancer and choreographer Deepika Reddy during a Civil Investiture Ceremony, at Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi, Monday, May 25, 2026. (PTI Photo/Shahbaz Khan)(PTI05_25_2026_000447B)

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Terms & conditions | Institutional Subscriber