India’s second-highest civilian honour started life as one single award. A government tried to cancel it twice. It survived a Supreme Court challenge, too.
MCQ Questions
Padma Awards · Timeline
One award becomes three, survives two suspensions
1954
Instituted as one single award
Called Padma Vibhushan, with 3 internal classes: Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg, Tisra Varg.
1955
Split into 3 named awards
A Presidential notification, 8 January 1955, renamed the 3 classes: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, Padma Shri.
1978–1979
First suspension
The Janata government halted the awards, calling them “worthless and politicised.”
1993–1997
Second suspension
Halted again, this time during litigation that challenged the awards’ constitutional validity.
1996
Supreme Court upholds the awards
In Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India, the Court held these awards are not “titles” under Article 18. Awards resumed the next year.
The pattern: despite two suspensions and a constitutional challenge, the Padma Awards outgrew their single-award origins and became India’s largest civilian honours system — still capped at 120 new names a year.
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✅ Tiers, Eligibility and Selection
Below the Bharat Ratna
- Second Tier The Padma Awards are India’s civilian honours, one tier below the Bharat Ratna.
Three Tiers
- Descending Rank There are three tiers, in descending rank: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
What They Recognise
- Any Field They recognise distinguished service in any field: art, science, sports, medicine, literature, public affairs, trade and industry, and civil service.
When They’re Announced
- Republic Day Eve Names are announced every year on Republic Day eve, 25 or 26 January. The President presents them in a ceremony in March or April.
The Padma Awards Committee
- Cabinet Secretary The Padma Awards Committee, chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, recommends names to the Prime Minister and President.
The 120-Name Cap
- Exclusions At most 120 new names are approved each year. Posthumous, NRI, foreigner, and OCI awards don’t count toward that cap.
Who’s Not Eligible
- Government Servants Government servants, including those at public sector undertakings, are not eligible — except doctors and scientists.
📘 History and Legal Standing
Instituted as One Award
- 1954 The Padma Awards were instituted in 1954, as a single award called Padma Vibhushan, with three internal classes.
Split Into Three
- 1955 A Presidential notification on 8 January 1955 split it into three separate, named awards: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri.
Suspended Twice, Not Once
- UPSC 2021 The awards were suspended twice, not just once. First in 1978-79, by the Janata government, which called them “worthless and politicised.” Second in 1993-97, during litigation over their constitutional validity. Asked as: “Consider statements about Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards.” (UPSC CSP 2021, GS Paper I).
Not “Titles” Under Article 18
- Balaji Raghavan, 1996 In Balaji Raghavan v. Union of India (1996), the Supreme Court upheld the awards. It held they are not “titles” under Article 18 of the Constitution, since they carry no hereditary, social, or political privilege — and Article 18(1) itself is a PROHIBITION on the State conferring titles, not a provision creating these awards as titles.
The No-Prefix Condition
- Forfeiture Risk The Court added one condition: a recipient cannot use the award as a prefix or suffix to their name. Doing so can mean forfeiting it.
Open Nominations
- Self-Nomination Allowed Nominations are open to the public, including self-nomination, through the Padma Awards portal.
Test Yourself
🏆 Comparisons and Exam Notes
No Tiers or Cap for Bharat Ratna
- Contrast The Padma Awards sit directly below the Bharat Ratna in India’s civilian honours system. The Bharat Ratna itself has no tiers and no annual cap. See GK0009 — Bharat Ratna for that award’s own history.
Rank Depends on Tier, Not Year
- Common Trap Matching a well-known recipient to their correct tier, rather than just naming them, is a common exam trap — a Padma Shri recipient is not automatically more senior than a Padma Bhushan recipient from an earlier year; rank depends only on the tier itself, not the year.
Mostly Outside Government
- Exclusion Effect Because civil servants are excluded except doctors and scientists, most Padma recipients come from outside government — unlike many other government honours.
See Also
- Full Honours Map For how the Padma Awards fit alongside India’s other national honours, see GK0017 — Awards of India.
📰 Current Affairs
Civil Investiture Ceremony-II
- 23 Jun 2026 President Droupadi Murmu presented Padma Awards 2026 at the Civil Investiture Ceremony-II, held at Rashtrapati Bhavan. This was the second and final ceremony for the 2026 awards. Ceremony-I was held earlier, on 25 May 2026. The Vice President, Prime Minister, and Union Home Minister attended as dignitaries. (Source: PIB) (Source: PIB)
131 Padma Awards 2026
- 25-26 Jan 2026 On the eve of Republic Day 2026, the government announced 131 Padma Awards: 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri.
Padma Vibhushan Recipients
- Dharmendra and Others Actor Dharmendra and former Kerala Chief Minister V.S. Achuthanandan received the Padma Vibhushan posthumously. Former Supreme Court judge K.T. Thomas and journalist P. Narayanan also received the Padma Vibhushan.
Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Recipients
- Yagnik, Mammootty, Sharma Padma Bhushan recipients included singer Alka Yagnik, actor Mammootty, and tennis player Vijay Amritraj. Cricketer Rohit Sharma and hockey player Savita Punia received the Padma Shri.
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GK0017 — Awards of IndiaUPSC CSP 2021 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)Polity0265 — Article 18 of the ConstitutionUPSC CSP 2026 — General Studies Paper I (Full Question Paper)GK0009 — Bharat Ratna❓ Practice this topic
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