The President of India has approved the conferment of Padma Awards for 2026 on 13 persons from Tamil Nadu. The list of 131 awards this year comprises two Padma Bhushan and 11 Padma Shri awards from Tamil Nadu.
While S.K.M. Maeilanandhan will receive Padma Bhushan for social work, K.R. Palaniswamy will receive the award for distinguished service of a high order in the field of medicine.
Mr. Maeilanandhan, executive chairman of the Erode-based SKM Group of Companies, was born into a poor agricultural family in Erode district in 1945.
K. Vijayakumar
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THANTHONI S
An eminent entrepreneur and social and consumer activist, he received the Padma Shri for social work in 2013. He has been the president of the Erode Consumer Protection Centre for the past 33 years. In 1999, he adopted two Dalit villages in Saminathapuram. He has also been the president of the World Community Service Centre for 37 years, spreading value-based cultural education.
Renowned Gastroenterologist Dr. Palaniswamy said he was extremely happy to receive the award. He is known for his public awareness programmes on digestive disorders and colon cancer; conduct of free medical camps; and his 30-year-long association with the Ramakrishna Math.
K.R. Palaniswamy
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Dr. Palaniswamy said he dedicated the award to his parents, teachers and patients. “It is a great honour for me, especially since I received the Padma Shri in 2007.”
K. Vijay Kumar, former chief of the Special Task Force that hunted down dreaded forest brigand Veerappan in 2004, has been chosen for Padma Shri award. “I am happy to have worked with several teams that has finally led to this,” he said on being chosen for the award.
He held various positions in the State police, including Commissioner of Police, Chennai, before going on Central deputation, serving in the Border Security Force and Central Para Military Force.
Considered an expert in anti-naxal operations, Mr. Vijay Kumar is the recipient of the President’s Police Medal for Gallantry.
Posthumously chosen
Padma Shri awardee R. Krishnan, who went by the nom de plume ‘Kitna’, passed away in March 2025.
R. Krishnan.
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SPL
He has been credited with ensuring the preservation of the art and culture of the Alu Kurumba community in the Nilgiris. He had drawn inspiration from the rock art site at Vellaricombai in the Nilgiris, which was used by the Alu Kurumba community as inspiration for painting murals on the walls of their homes. He would also use only organic paints made from natural dyes and fibres.
Padma Shri awardee H.V. Hande, who was the Health Minister in AIADMK founder M.G. Ramachandran’s Cabinet, said: “I am happy about the award. I began my medical practice in 1950 and this is my 76th year in practice. It is a recognition of my service to the poor.” He had received the Dr. B.C. Roy National Award for reducing the Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate and for initiatives to eradicate polio and measles. “I am 99 years old, and even today, I continue to see patients,” he said.
H.V. Hande
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Carnatic vocalists and sisters Ranjani-Gayathri, on being chosen for the Padma Shri award, said it was very heartening and that “it only pushes us to do our best and continue on this journey”.
On their work with ragas and music, they said: “We have many on-going projects that are being taken up with a vision to bring more people to the classical arts.”
Punniamurthy Natesan, retired professor at Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, has been selected for the Padma Shri in the field of medicine. He said that in the last 25 years, traditional Siddha medicine has proved that this knowledge system offers solution for conserving antibiotics for future use. “It gives us natural products, and as a pharmacologist, I could formulate treatments from this. For instance, I had used aloe vera, turmeric and calcium oxide to treat mastitis in cows, he said.”
Sculpture Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar
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LAKSHMI NARAYANAN E
Sculptor Rajastapathi Kaliappa Goundar has been chosen for the Padma Shri. He has been in the field for the past 51 years. “This award will encourage sculptors and juniors to look up to me as a role model; I will teach them about the intricacies in this field,” he said.
V. Kamakoti, IIT-Madras Director, has been chosen for the Padma Shri in the field of Science and Engineering. “The Padma Shri Award means only one thing to me — That I will put in my best efforts towards Viksit Bharat @ 2047. Whatever I have achieved is all because of a collective effort. I dedicate this award to everyone who has been a part of this journey,” he said.
V. Kamakoti
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BIJOY GHOSH
The other Padma Shri awardees are K. Ramasamy for science and technology, Othuvaar Thiruthani Swaminathan for art, Thiruvaarur Bakthavathsalam for art and Sivasankari for literature and education.
Stalin congratulates awardees
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin congratulated personalities from various fields from Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry, who have been named for the Padma awards on Sunday.
Mr. Stalin, in a social media post, expressed hope that the award would help them continue their achievements in their respective fields and serve society.
In a social media post, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami congratulated the awardees from Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. He appreciated the Central government for recognising the personalities.
Published – January 26, 2026 12:22 am IST
