Padma Awards 2025: 39 Honorees from Education, Science, and Medicine Among 139 Awardees

The 2025 Padma Awards recognize 39 contributors in education, science, and medicine, including renowned academics from institutions like IIT Kanpur, McGill University, and Harvard Business School.

The Padma Awards 2025, announced on the eve of Republic Day, recognize exceptional contributions across diverse fields. This year’s list includes 139 awardees—7 Padma Vibhushan, 19 Padma Bhushan, and 113 Padma Shri—celebrating excellence in education, literature, medicine, science, and engineering. Among the honorees are several distinguished academics and innovators representing esteemed institutions across the globe.

Prominent Academics in Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan Categories

T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous), renowned Malayalam author and former visiting professor, was awarded the Padma Vibhushan for his contributions to literature and education. Similarly, Bibek Debroy (Posthumous), an economist with a legacy at the Delhi School of Economics and Presidency College, received the Padma Bhushan. Rambahadur Rai, a veteran journalist and chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, was also recognized in this category for his work in journalism and education.

Padma Shri Honorees with Academic Excellence

Several Padma Shri awardees hold notable academic positions. Arvind Sharma, professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University, and Ashutosh Sharma, professor at IIT Kanpur and former Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, exemplify leadership in their fields.

David R. Syiemlieh, historian and former Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University, and K. L. Krishna, an economist and former Director of the Delhi School of Economics, were recognized for their scholarly contributions.

International academic icons include Nitin Nohria, former Dean of Harvard Business School, and Sethuraman Panchanathan, Director of the U.S. National Science Foundation. Syed Ainul Hasan, Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University, and Vadiraj Panchamukhi, an economist and Sanskrit scholar, further highlighted the global and interdisciplinary achievements of the awardees.

Celebrating Innovation in Science and Engineering

Vinod Dham, famously known as the "Father of the Pentium Chip," and Ajay V. Bhatt, co-inventor of the USB, were among the awardees recognized for their technological contributions.

The Padma Awards 2025 reflect the rich academic and innovative spirit of India, honoring individuals who have significantly advanced their respective fields while fostering global recognition of Indian talent.

Here is the filtered table of recipients under the categories of Education, Literature, Medicine, Science, and Engineering, grouped by the Padma awards:

Padma Vibhushan (7)

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
1	Shri Duvvur Nageshwar Reddy	Medicine	Telangana
2	Shri M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	Kerala

Padma Bhushan (19)

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
1	Shri A Surya Prakash	Literature and Education-Journalism	Karnataka
2	Shri Bibek Debroy (Posthumous)	Literature and Education	NCT Delhi
3	Shri Jose Chacko Periappuram	Medicine	Kerala
4	Shri Rambahadur Rai	Literature and Education-Journalism	Uttar Pradesh
5	Shri Vinod Dham	Science and Engineering	United States

Padma Shri (113)

SN	Name	Field	State/Country
1	Shri Ajay V Bhatt	Science and Engineering	United States
2	Shri Anil Kumar Boro	Literature and Education	Assam
3	Shri Arunoday Saha	Literature and Education	Tripura
4	Shri Arvind Sharma	Literature and Education	Canada
5	Shri Ashok Kumar Mahapatra	Medicine	Odisha
6	Shri Ashutosh Sharma	Science and Engineering	Uttar Pradesh
7	Shri Chetan E Chitnis	Science and Engineering	France
8	Shri David R Syiemlieh	Literature and Education	Meghalaya
9	Shri Ganeshwar Shastri Dravid	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh
10	Smt. Gita Upadhyay	Literature and Education	Assam
11	Shri Hriday Narayan Dixit	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh
12	Shri Jagadish Joshila	Literature and Education	Madhya Pradesh
13	Shri K L Krishna	Literature and Education	Andhra Pradesh
14	Shri Lalit Kumar Mangotra	Literature and Education	Jammu And Kashmir
15	Shri M D Srinivas	Science and Engineering	Tamil Nadu
16	Shri Nagendra Nath Roy	Literature and Education	West Bengal
17	Shri Nitin Nohria	Literature and Education	United States
18	Shri Pratibha Satpathy	Literature and Education	Odisha
19	Shri Ramdarash Mishra	Literature and Education	NCT Delhi
20	Shri Renthlei Lalrawna	Literature and Education	Mizoram
21	Shri Sethuraman Panchanathan	Science and Engineering	United States
22	Shri Sheikha Shaikha Ali Al-Jaber Al-Sabah	Medicine	Kuwait
23	Shri Stephen Knapp	Literature and Education	United States
24	Shri Surinder Kumar Vasal	Science and Engineering	Delhi
25	Shri Syed Ainul Hasan	Literature and Education	Uttar Pradesh
26	Shri Tushar Durgeshbhai Shukla	Literature and Education	Gujarat
27	Shri Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi	Literature and Education	Andhra Pradesh
28	Smt. Vijayalakshmi Deshamane	Medicine	Karnataka
29	Shri Vilas Dangre	Medicine	Maharashtra

Among the Padma awardees in the fields of Education, Literature, Medicine, Science, and Engineering, several individuals hold prominent academic positions such as teachers, professors, vice-chancellors, deans, or directors. In the Padma Vibhushan category, M. T. Vasudevan Nair, a renowned Malayalam author and screenplay writer from Kerala, has served as the editor of Mathrubhumi weekly and been a visiting professor at various institutions.

In the Padma Bhushan category, Bibek Debroy, an economist and author from Delhi, previously served as a professor at the Centre for Policy Research and held academic roles at Presidency College, Kolkata, and the Delhi School of Economics. Rambahadur Rai, a veteran journalist from Uttar Pradesh and chairman of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), has participated in numerous academic discussions and seminars related to journalism and literature.

Several Padma Shri awardees also have notable academic credentials. Arvind Sharma, a professor of Comparative Religion at McGill University in Canada and a former IAS officer, transitioned to academia and gained global recognition in his field. Ashutosh Sharma, a professor at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kanpur and former Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology, is another celebrated academic. David R. Syiemlieh, a historian from Meghalaya, has served as the Vice-Chancellor of Rajiv Gandhi University and as the Chairman of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).

In the same category, K. L. Krishna, an economist from Andhra Pradesh, was the Director of the Delhi School of Economics and made significant contributions to economic research. Nitin Nohria, a former Dean of Harvard Business School, has been recognized for his leadership in management education. Sethuraman Panchanathan, a computer scientist and academic administrator in the United States, serves as the Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF) and is a former Executive Vice President of Arizona State University. Syed Ainul Hasan, a professor of Persian and Central Asian Studies at Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU), was appointed Vice-Chancellor of Maulana Azad National Urdu University.

Vadiraj Raghawendracharya Panchamukhi, an economist and Sanskrit scholar from Andhra Pradesh, has served as the Director of the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) and held various academic positions. Finally, Vinod Dham, known as the "Father of the Pentium Chip," has been involved in academia as a mentor and advisor, although he is primarily recognized for his technological and entrepreneurial contributions.

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