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The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest
civilian award A civilian is a person who is not a member of an armed force. It is illegal under the law of armed conflict to target civilians with military attacks, along with numerous other considerations for civilians during times of war. If a civilian engag ...
of the
Republic of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area; the most populous country since 2023; and, since its independence in 1947, the world's most populous democracy. Bounded by ...
, after the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...
. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex are eligible for these awards. However, government servants including those working with
public sector undertakings Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in India are government-owned entities in which at least 51% of stake is under the ownership of the Government of India or state governments. These types of firms can also be a joint venture of multiple PSUs. ...
, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these Awards. , the award has been bestowed on 336 individuals, including thirty-one posthumous and twenty-one non-citizen recipients. During 1 May and 15 September of every year, the recommendations for the award are submitted to the Padma Awards Committee, constituted by the
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
. The recommendations are received from all the state and the union territory governments, the Ministries of the Government of India, the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...
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 committee later submits their recommendations to the Prime Minister and the
President of India The president of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, and the commander-in-chief, supreme commander of the Indian Armed ...
for the further approval. The award recipients are announced on
Republic Day Republic Day is the name of a holiday in several countries to commemorate the day when they became republics. List January 1 January in Slovak Republic The day of creation of Slovak republic. A national holiday since 1993. Officially calle ...
. The first recipients of the award were
Satyendra Nath Bose Satyendra Nath Bose (; 1 January 1894 – 4 February 1974) was an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statist ...
,
Nand Lal Bose Nandalal Bose (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his "Indian style" of painting. He became the princip ...
,
Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in H ...
,
Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Bombay (1937–1939, 1946–1947) and the first chief minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State (1947–1952). He was aw ...
,
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...
, and
V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. During his time, Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign r ...
, who were honoured in 1954. The 1954 statutes did not allow posthumous awards but this was subsequently modified in the January 1955 statute. The "Padma Vibhushan", along with other personal civil honours, was briefly suspended twice, from July 1977 to January 1980 and from August 1992 to December 1995. Some of the recipients have refused or returned their conferments. P. N. Haksar,
Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player, considered by many to be the greatest sitarist of his age. Along with Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, and Imrat Khan, he is credited with the creation a ...
,
E. M. S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...
,
Swami Ranganathananda Swami Ranganathananda (15 December 1908 – 25 April 2005) was a Hindu swami of the Ramakrishna Math order. He served as the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Biography Swami Ranganathananda, (pre-monastic name S ...
, and
Manikonda Chalapathi Rau Manikonda Chalapathi Rau (1908 or 1910 – 25 March 1983) was an Indian journalist and author who served as the Editor-in-chief of the English daily '' National Herald'' from 1946 to 1978. He is regarded as one of the greatest editors in the hi ...
,
Mata Amritanandamayi Sri Mātā Amritānandamayī Devi (born Sudhamani Idamannel; 27 September 1953), often known as Amma ("Mother"), is an Indian Hindu spiritual leader, guru and humanitarian, who is revered as 'the hugging Hindu saint, saint' by her followers ...
refused the award, the family members of
Lakshmi Chand Jain Lakshmi Chand Jain (1925–2010) was a political activist and writer. Later, he served at various times as a member of the Planning Commission, as Indian High commissioner to South Africa, as a member of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) an ...
(2011) and Sharad Anantrao Joshi (2016) declined their posthumous conferments, and
Baba Amte Murlidhar Devidas Amte (), popularly known as Baba Amte, (26 December 1914 – 9 February 2008) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from le ...
returned his 1986 conferment in 1991. In 2024, the award was bestowed upon five recipients
Vyjayanthimala Vyjayanthimala Bali ( Raman; born 13 August 1933), known mononymously as Vyjayanthimala, is an Indian parliamentarian, dancer and former actress. Regarded as one of Hindi cinema's greatest actresses and dancers, she is the recipient of sever ...
,
Chiranjeevi Konidela Chiranjeevi (born Konidela Sivasankara Varaprasad; 22 August 1955) is an Indian actor, philanthropist and former politician known for his work in Telugu cinema. Known as the "Mega Star", he is widely regarded as one of the most succe ...
,
Venkaiah Naidu Muppavarapu Venkaiah Naidu (born 1 July 1949) is an Indian politician who served as the vice president of India from 2017 to 2022. He has also served as the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, minister of Housing and Urban Pover ...
,
Bindeshwar Pathak Bindeshwar Pathak (2 April 1943 – 15 August 2023) was an Indian sociologist and social entrepreneur. He was the founder of Sulabh International, an India-based social service organisation promoting human rights, environmental sanitation, non- ...
(posthumous) and
Padma Subrahmanyam Padma Subrahmanyam (born 4 February 1943, in Madras), is an Indian classical Bharatanatyam dancer. She is also a research scholar, choreographer, teacher, Indologist and author. She is famous in India as well as abroad; several films and documen ...
. The 2025 award was given to seven recipients D. Nageshwara Reddy, Jagdish Singh Khehar,
Kumudini Lakhia Kumudini Lakhia (17 May 1930 – 12 April 2025) was an Indian Kathak dancer and choreographer based in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, where she founded Kadamb School of Dance and Music, an institute of Indian dance and music in 1967. A pioneer in contemp ...
, L. Subramaniam,
M. T. Vasudevan Nair Madath Thekkepaattu Vasudevan Narayanan Nair (15 July 1933 – 25 December 2024) was an Indian author, lecturer, Screenwriter, screenplay writer and film director. He was a prolific and versatile writer in modern Malayalam literature, and was o ...
(posthumous), Osamu Suzuki (posthumous) and
Sharda Sinha Sharda Sinha (1 October 1952 – 5 November 2024) was an Indian folk and classical singer. Hailing from Bihar, she predominantly sang in Maithili and Bhojpuri language and is called ''Bihar Kokila'', the cuckoo of Bihar. Sinha has sung many f ...
(posthumous).


History

On 2 January 1954, a press release was published from the office of the secretary to the President of India announcing the creation of two civilian awards—
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...
, the highest civilian award, and the three-tier Padma Vibhushan, classified into "Pahela Varg" (Class I), "Dusra Varg" (Class II), and "Tisra Varg" (Class III), which rank below the Bharat Ratna. 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 The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
and the
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
. The award, along with other personal civilian honours, was briefly suspended twice in its history; for the first time in July 1977 when
Morarji Desai Morarji Ranchhodji Desai (29 February 1896 – 10 April 1995) was an Indian politician and Indian independence activist, independence activist who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India between 1977 and 1979 leading th ...
was sworn in as the fourth
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
, for being "worthless and politicized". The suspension was rescinded on 25 January 1980 after
Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and stateswoman who served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India from 1966 to 1977 and again from 1980 un ...
returned as Prime Minister. The civilian awards were suspended again in mid-1992, when two Public-Interest Litigations were filed in the
High Courts of India The high courts of India are the highest courts of appellate jurisdiction in each state and union territory of India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependenci ...
, one in the
Kerala High Court The High Court of Kerala is the List of high courts in India, highest court in the Indian state of Kerala and the Union territory of Lakshadweep. It is located in Kochi. Drawing its powers under Article 226 of the Constitution of India, the Hig ...
on 13 February 1992 by Balaji Raghavan and another in the
Madhya Pradesh High Court The Madhya Pradesh High Court is the High Court of the state of Madhya Pradesh which is located in Jabalpur. It was established as the Nagpur High Court on 2 January 1936 by Letters Patent dated 2 January 1936, issued under Section 108 the '' ...
(Indore Bench) on 24 August 1992 by Satya Pal Anand. Both petitioners questioned the civilian awards being "titles" per an interpretation of Article 18 (1) of the
Constitution of India The Constitution of India is the supreme law of India, legal document of India, and the longest written national constitution in the world. The document lays down the framework that demarcates fundamental political code, structure, procedures ...
. On 25 August 1992, the Madhya Pradesh High Court issued a notice temporarily suspending all civilian awards. A Special Division Bench of the Supreme Court of India was formed comprising five judges: A. M. Ahmadi C. J., Kuldip Singh, B. P. Jeevan Reddy, N. P. Singh, and S. Saghir Ahmad. On 15 December 1995, the Special Division Bench restored the awards and delivered a judgment that the "Bharat Ratna and Padma awards are not titles under Article 18 of the Constitution of India".


Regulations

The award is conferred for "exceptional and distinguished service", without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The criteria include "service in any field including service rendered by Government servants", but excludes those working with the
public sector undertakings Public Sector Undertakings (PSU) in India are government-owned entities in which at least 51% of stake is under the ownership of the Government of India or state governments. These types of firms can also be a joint venture of multiple PSUs. ...
, 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; Aditya Nath Jha, Ghulam Mohammed Sadiq, and
Vikram Sarabhai Vikram Ambalal Sarabhai (12 August 1919 – 30 December 1971) was an Indian physicist and astronomer who initiated space research and helped to develop nuclear power in India. Often regarded as the "''Father of Indian space program''", Sar ...
became the first recipients to be honoured posthumously in 1972. The recommendations are received from all state and union territory governments, the Ministries of the Government of India, the
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...
and previous Padma Vibhushan award recipients, the Institutes of Excellence, the Ministers, the Chief Ministers, 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, convened by the
Prime Minister of India The prime minister of India (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the head of government of the Republic of India. Executive authority is vested in the prime minister and his chosen Union Council of Ministers, Council of Ministers, despite the president of ...
. The Awards Committee later submits its recommendations to the Prime Minister and the President of India for further approval. The Padma Vibhushan award recipients are announced every year on
Republic Day of India Republic Day is a national holiday in India commemorating the adoption of the Constitution of the Republic of India and the country's transition to a republic which came into effect on 26 January 1950. The constitution replaced the Governmen ...
and registered in ''
The Gazette of India ''The Gazette of India'' is a public journal and an authorised legal document of the Government of India. It is published weekly by the Directorate of Printing Department of Publication, a subordinate office of the Ministry of Housing and Urban ...
''a publication released weekly by the Department of Publication,
Ministry of Urban Development Ministry of Urban Development may refer to: * Ministry of Urban Development (Albania) *Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, India, formerly the Ministry of Urban Development * Ministry of Urban Development (Maharashtra), India *Ministry of Urban D ...
used for official government notices. 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 actions 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.


Specifications

The original 1954 specifications of the award called for a circle made of gold gilt in diameter, with rims on both sides. A centrally located lotus flower was embossed on the obverse side of the medal and the text "Padma Vibhushan" written in
Devanagari Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
script was inscribed above the lotus along the upper edge of the medal. A floral wreath was embossed along the lower edge and a lotus wreath at the top along the upper edge. The
Emblem of India The State Emblem of India is the national emblem of the Republic of India and is used by the Government of India, union government, many State governments of India, state governments, and other government agencies. The emblem is an adaptation o ...
was placed in the centre of the reverse side with the text "Desh Seva" in Devanagari Script on the lower edge. The medal was suspended by a pink riband in width divided into two equal segments by a white vertical line. A year later, the design was modified. The current decoration is a circular-shaped bronze toned medallion in diameter and thick. The centrally placed pattern made of outer lines of a square of side is embossed with a knob carved within each of the outer angles of the pattern. A raised circular space of in diameter 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 Devanagari ( ; in script: , , ) is an Indic script used in the Indian subcontinent. It is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental systems: alphabets, writing system), based on the ancient ''Brāhmī script, Brā ...
script is placed above and the text "Vibhushan" is placed below the lotus. The
Emblem of India The State Emblem of India is the national emblem of the Republic of India and is used by the Government of India, union government, many State governments of India, state governments, and other government agencies. The emblem is an adaptation o ...
is placed in the centre of the reverse side with the national motto of India, "
Satyameva Jayate Satyameva Jayate (; ) is a part of a ''mantra'' from the Hindu texts, Hindu scripture ''Mundaka Upanishad''. Following the independence of India, it was adopted as the national motto of India on 26 January 1950, the day India became a Republic ...
" (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 in width. The medal is ranked fourth in the order of precedence of wearing of medals and decorations. The medals are produced at Alipore Mint, Kolkata along with the other civilian and military awards like
Bharat Ratna The Bharat Ratna (; ) is the highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conferred in recognition of "exceptional service/performance of the highest order", without distin ...
,
Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...
,
Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...
, and Param Veer Chakra.


Recipients

The first recipients of the Padma Vibhushan were
Satyendra Nath Bose Satyendra Nath Bose (; 1 January 1894 – 4 February 1974) was an Indian theoretical physicist and mathematician. He is best known for his work on quantum mechanics in the early 1920s, in developing the foundation for Bose–Einstein statist ...
,
Nandalal Bose Nandalal Bose (3 December 1882 – 16 April 1966) was one of the pioneers of modern Indian art and a key figure of Santiniketan: The Making of a Contextual Modernism, Contextual Modernism. A pupil of Abanindranath Tagore, Bose was known for his ...
,
Zakir Husain Zakir Husain Khan (8 February 1897 – 3 May 1969) was an Indian educationist and politician who served as the vice president of India from 1962 to 1967 and president of India from 13 May 1967 until his death on 3 May 1969. Born in H ...
,
Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher (24 August 1888 – 8 March 1957) was an Indian politician who served as the prime minister of Bombay (1937–1939, 1946–1947) and the first chief minister (then called Premier) of Bombay State (1947–1952). He was aw ...
,
V. K. Krishna Menon Vengalil Krishnan Krishna Menon (3 May 1896 – 6 October 1974) was an Indian academic, independence activist, politician, lawyer, and statesman. During his time, Menon contributed to the Indian independence movement and India's foreign r ...
, and
Jigme Dorji Wangchuck Jigme Dorji Wangchuck (, ; 2 May 1928 – 21 July 1972) was the 3rd Druk Gyalpo of Bhutan. He began to open Bhutan to the outside world, began modernization, and took the first step towards democratization. Early life Jigme Dorji Wangchuck wa ...
, who were honoured in 1954. , the award has been bestowed on 314 individuals, including seventeen posthumous and twenty-one non-citizen recipients. Some of the conferments have been refused or returned by the recipients; P. N. Haksar,
Vilayat Khan Ustad Vilayat Khan (28 August 1928 – 13 March 2004) was an Indian classical sitar player, considered by many to be the greatest sitarist of his age. Along with Imdad Khan, Enayat Khan, and Imrat Khan, he is credited with the creation a ...
,
E. M. S. Namboodiripad Elamkulam Manakkal Sankaran Namboodiripad (13 June 1909 – 19 March 1998), popularly known as E.M.S. Namboodiripad or simply by his initials E. M. S., was an Indian communist politician and theorist, who served as the first Chief Minister of ...
,
Swami Ranganathananda Swami Ranganathananda (15 December 1908 – 25 April 2005) was a Hindu swami of the Ramakrishna Math order. He served as the 13th president of the Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission. Biography Swami Ranganathananda, (pre-monastic name S ...
, and
Manikonda Chalapathi Rau Manikonda Chalapathi Rau (1908 or 1910 – 25 March 1983) was an Indian journalist and author who served as the Editor-in-chief of the English daily '' National Herald'' from 1946 to 1978. He is regarded as one of the greatest editors in the hi ...
refused the award. The family members of
Lakshmi Chand Jain Lakshmi Chand Jain (1925–2010) was a political activist and writer. Later, he served at various times as a member of the Planning Commission, as Indian High commissioner to South Africa, as a member of the World Commission on Dams (WCD) an ...
(2011) and Sharad Anantrao Joshi (2016) declined their posthumous conferments.
Baba Amte Murlidhar Devidas Amte (), popularly known as Baba Amte, (26 December 1914 – 9 February 2008) was an Indian social worker and social activist known particularly for his work for the rehabilitation and empowerment of people suffering from le ...
returned his 1986 conferment in 1991. Droupadi Murmu, President of India, announced the recipients of the prestigious Padma Awards on 24 April 2024. The awards, including Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri, honor individuals for exceptional contributions in various fields. The announcement highlights the nation's recognition of outstanding achievements and service to society.


Explanatory notes


References


Bibliography

* * *


External links

* * {{Padma Vibhushan Awards Awards established in 1954 Civil awards and decorations of India