President Droupadi Murmu will confer the Padma Awards 2026 at the first Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi, on Monday, 26 May 2026. Among this year's Padma Shri recipients are Techi Gubin, a retired chief architect and social worker from Arunachal Pradesh, and Ratilal Borisagar, a Gujarati litterateur and former teacher based in Ahmedabad. Both men say the recognition came as a complete surprise.

Techi Gubin: 26 Years of Quiet Service

Techi Gubin, who spent his professional career as a chief architect before retiring, has devoted the past 26 years to social work through Kalyan Ashram. He said he had no idea he was even being considered for the award. 'I had never even dreamed that I would receive such an award. When I was asked if I had applied for it, I said no, I had not applied. I do not know how I was selected or on whose recommendation,' he said.

Gubin was categorical that the honour belongs to the organisation, not to him personally. 'The real credit goes to the organisation where I have been working continuously for the last 26 years,' he said. He added that the first he heard of the selection was a call from the Union Home Ministry on 25 January, after which he was invited to New Delhi on 25 May to receive the award.

Ratilal Borisagar: A Litterateur Recognised Beyond the Mainstream

Ratilal Borisagar, a former teacher who served in the Gujarat Education Board, has authored several books and made significant contributions to Gujarati literature over decades. His selection for the Padma Shri reflects a broader pattern this year of honouring individuals who are accomplished within their fields but are not nationally prominent figures.

Borisagar noted the shift in how the awards have been approached in recent years. 'I do not exactly remember how awards were given earlier, but in recent years I have seen that even lesser-known individuals are being recognised. People who may not be nationally famous, but are doing excellent work in their field, are being honoured,' he said.

He also praised the selection philosophy, saying, 'When Padma Awards are announced, we see that many recipients may not be widely known, but their service is taken into account. For this approach, I congratulate and thank the Indian government.'

About the Padma Shri and This Year's Ceremony

The Padma Shri is India's fourth-highest civilian honour, awarded for exceptional contributions across fields including art, literature, education, medicine, and social work. The 2026 Civil Investiture Ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan marks the first such event of the year, with President Murmu personally conferring the awards.

This year's cohort is being noted for its emphasis on grassroots contributors — social workers and writers from rural or lesser-known backgrounds whose work has largely gone unrecognised at the national level. Notably, both Gubin and Borisagar represent precisely this profile: decades of sustained, field-level contribution with little public visibility until now.

What Comes Next

The investiture ceremony on 26 May 2026 will see President Droupadi Murmu confer awards across multiple Padma categories. Further Civil Investiture Ceremonies are expected to follow in the coming weeks for remaining awardees. For Gubin and Borisagar, the occasion marks a rare moment of national visibility for work that was, by their own account, never done with recognition in mind.