Two Indian Americans were among the 13 individuals to receive the prestigious Padma Bhushan award from the Government of India. The results were announced on Jan. 25, 2026, as is traditionally done on the eve of Republic Day of India.
Dr. Nori Dattatreyudu, in the field of Medicine for his phenomenal work in the field of cancer treatment; and Vijay Amritraj for his work in the field of Sports, specifically relating to tennis, were among the recipients from the US.
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In the category of Padma Shri Awards, of which there were a total of 113, only one individual from the United States received it – Dr. Prateek Sharma in Medicine. Dr. Sharma is a gastroenterologist and academic known for his work on esophageal diseases. He is the President of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.
For the Padma Vibhushan category in which only 5 awards are given out, Bollywood star Dharmendra (Dharmendra Singh Deol) who died recently, was among the recipients.
According to the announcement, Padma Awards are one of the highest civilian Awards of the country, are conferred in three categories, namely, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Awards are given in various disciplines / fields of activities, viz.- art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service, etc. ‘Padma Vibhushan’ is awarded for exceptional and distinguished service; ‘Padma Bhushan’ for distinguished service of high order and ‘Padma Shri’ for distinguished service in any field. The awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day every year.
These Awards are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March / April every year. For the year 2026, the President has approved conferment of 131 Padma Awards including 2 duo cases (in a duo case, the Award is counted as one) as per list below. The list comprises 5 Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri Awards. 19 of the awardees are women and the list also includes 6 persons from the category of Foreigners / NRI / PIO / OCI and 16 Posthumous awardees.