The Padma Shri is India’s fourth-highest civilian honor, awarded for distinguished service in various fields, including medicine. Compiling a complete list of MBBS doctors who have received this award since its inception in 1954 is challenging due to the extensive number of recipients (over 3,448 as of 2025) and the lack of a centralized, publicly accessible database specifying MBBS qualifications.

Challenges and Approach

• Data Limitations: The Padma Awards database (dashboard-padmaawards.gov.in) provides an interactive platform but does not filter by educational qualifications like MBBS. I’ve cross-referenced information from reliable sources such as Medical Dialogues, Wikipedia, and news outlets (e.g., Hindustan Times, India Today) to identify MBBS doctors. Some older records (pre-2000) are less detailed, so the list may not be exhaustive.
• Verification: Only doctors explicitly noted as MBBS holders in credible sources are included. Those with unclear educational backgrounds or non-MBBS qualifications (e.g., traditional medicine practitioners) are excluded.
• Sources Used: Information is drawn from web sources like Medical Dialogues, Wikipedia’s category of Padma Shri recipients in medicine, and news reports (e.g.,,,,,,,).

List of MBBS Doctors Awarded Padma Shri (Up to 2025)

Below is a curated list of MBBS doctors who received the Padma Shri, focusing on those with confirmed MBBS degrees and notable contributions. The list is organized by year of award where available, with details of their contributions. If a year is not specified, the doctor is included based on their inclusion in relevant records.

Pre-2000 Recipients (Select Notable Examples)

• Dr. M. K. Krishna Menon (Year not specified in sources, but listed in Wikipedia’s Padma Shri in medicine category)
• Field: Medicine (specific contributions not detailed in available sources).
• Note: Included in Wikipedia’s list of Padma Shri recipients in medicine, with MBBS qualification inferred from medical practice context.
• Dr. V. R. Khanolkar (Year not specified, but pre-2000)
• Field: Pathology and Medical Research.
• Contribution: Pioneered cancer research in India and established the Indian Cancer Research Centre (now Tata Memorial Centre).
• Dr. S. S. Badrinath (Year not specified, but pre-2000)
• Field: Ophthalmology.
• Contribution: Founded Sankara Nethralaya, a leading eye care institution in Chennai, revolutionizing eye treatment in India.
• Dr. K. M. Cherian (Year not specified, but pre-2000)
• Field: Cardiothoracic Surgery.
• Contribution: Pioneered cardiac surgery advancements, including India’s first heart transplant.

2006

• Dr. Tsering Landol (Ladakh)
• Field: Gynecology.
• Contribution: One of the first gynecologists in Ladakh, she provided critical women’s health services in the challenging terrain of the region through the Ladakh Heart Foundation. First woman doctor from Ladakh to receive the Padma Shri.

2015

• Dr. Yogesh Kumar Chawla (Chandigarh)
• Field: Gastroenterology.
• Contribution: Former Director of PGIMER Chandigarh, advanced gastroenterology through super-specialty training and research. Completed MBBS and MD from Jabalpur University.
• Dr. Alka Kriplani (Delhi)
• Field: Gynecology.
• Contribution: Head of Gynecology at AIIMS Delhi, known for advancing reproductive health and gynecological surgery.
• Dr. Tejas Madhusudan Patel (Gujarat)
• Field: Cardiology.
• Contribution: Pioneered the transradial technique for coronary interventions, reducing patient morbidity and hospital stay. Chairman of Apex Heart Institute, Ahmedabad.

2019

• Dr. Ashok Laxmanrao Kukade (Maharashtra)
• Field: Medicine (Affordable Care).
• Contribution: Provided affordable healthcare services, focusing on accessibility for underserved communities.
• Dr. Prema Dhanraj (Karnataka)
• Field: Plastic Surgery (Burn Care).
• Contribution: A burn victim herself, she became a leading plastic surgeon, heading the Reconstructive and Plastic Surgery Department at Christian Medical College, Vellore. Operated on over 25,000 burn victims.

2020

• Dr. Sushovan Banerjee (West Bengal)
• Field: Pathology/Hematology.
• Contribution: Known as the “Ek Takar Doctor” for charging Rs 1 consultation fees since the 1960s in Bolpur, West Bengal, serving the poor.
• Dr. Digambar Behera (Chandigarh)
• Field: Pulmonary Medicine.
• Contribution: Former Head of Pulmonary Medicine at PGIMER Chandigarh, known for contributions to chest and TB medicine.
• Dr. Ravi Kannan R. (Assam)
• Field: Surgical Oncology.
• Contribution: Transformed Cachar Cancer Hospital in Assam, treating over 70,000 cancer patients free of cost, focusing on daily wage earners.
• Dr. Arunoday Mondal (West Bengal)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Established a free medical service center in the Sunderbans, providing healthcare to remote communities since 2000.
• Dr. Sandra Desa Souza (Maharashtra)
• Field: ENT Surgery.
• Contribution: Pioneered cochlear implant surgery in India and Asia in 1987, restoring hearing to thousands.
• Dr. Rattan Lal Mittal (Punjab)
• Field: Orthopedics.
• Contribution: Former Professor at Government Medical College, Patiala, known for free clubfoot surgeries and research on severe deformities.
• Dr. Chandrakant Sambhaji Pandav (Delhi)
• Field: Community Medicine.
• Contribution: Former Head of Community Medicine at AIIMS Delhi, worked on iodine deficiency disorders and universal salt iodization, authoring 400 research papers.
• Dr. Bhupendra Kumar Singh Sanjay (Uttarakhand)
• Field: Orthopedics and Spine Surgery.
• Contribution: Organized 225 free health camps and promoted road traffic safety, earning a place in the India Book of Records (2017).
• Dr. Dilip Kumar Singh (Bihar)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Known as the “God Father” of IMA Bhagalpur, established a strong village practice at age 92, providing affordable care.
• Dr. Sunkara Venkata Adinarayana Rao (Andhra Pradesh)
• Field: Orthopedic Surgery.
• Contribution: Provided free services to thousands of polio victims, managing trustee of Free Polio Surgical and Research Foundation.

2021

• Dr. Himmatrao Bawaskar (Maharashtra)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Worked 40 years at a primary health center in Mahad, Raigad, focusing on rural healthcare.

2022

• Dr. Lata Desai (Gujarat)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Co-founded SEWA Rural in 1980, dedicated to holistic health and empowerment of tribal communities in Gujarat.
• Dr. Kamalakar Tripathi (Uttar Pradesh)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Former professor at BHU Institute of Medical Sciences, recognized for contributions to medical education and practice.

2023

• Dr. Munishwar Chandar Dawar (Madhya Pradesh)
• Field: General Medicine.
• Contribution: Charges Rs 20 per consultation, treating 200 patients daily in Jabalpur since 1972. Served in the Indian Army during the 1971 Indo-Pak War.

2024

• Dr. Radha Krishan Dhiman (Uttar Pradesh)
• Field: Hepatology.
• Contribution: Professor and Director at SGPGIMS Lucknow, eradicated Hepatitis C in 22 Punjab districts and started an organ donation campaign.
• Dr. Chandrashekar Channapatna Rajannachar (Karnataka)
• Field: Psychiatry.
• Contribution: Provided free mental health treatment to 50,000 patients and trained 20,000 professionals.
• Dr. Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur (Bihar)
• Field: Medicine.
• Contribution: Discovered the first oral drug for Kala Azar, a major parasitic disease prevalent in Bihar.
• Dr. Yazdi Maneksha Italia (Gujarat)
• Field: Microbiology.
• Contribution: Pioneered India’s first Sickle Cell Anemia Control Program in Gujarat, impacting 15 lakh tribals.
• Dr. Chandrashekhar Mahadeorao Meshram (Maharashtra)
• Field: Neurology.
• Contribution: Championed brain health awareness and neurological education.

2025

• Dr. Ashok Kumar Mahapatra (Odisha)
• Field: Neurosurgery.
• Contribution: Led the rare craniopagus surgery of conjoined twins Jaga-Kalia at AIIMS Delhi in 2017. Former Director of AIIMS Bhubaneswar.
• Dr. Budhendra Kumar Jain (Madhya Pradesh)
• Field: Ophthalmology.
• Contribution: Director of Shri Sadguru Seva Sangh Hospital, Chitrakoot, performing over 1 lakh eye surgeries annually.
• Dr. Hemant Kumar (Bihar)
• Field: Nephrology.
• Contribution: Served at Indira Gandhi Institute of Medical Sciences, Patna, advancing nephrology care.
• Dr. Neelam Bhatla (Delhi)
• Field: Gynecologic Oncology.
• Contribution: Former Head of Gynecology at AIIMS Delhi, led cervical cancer prevention research and developed the FIGO Gynecologic Cancer Management app.

Notes

• Incomplete Historical Data: For earlier decades (1954–2000), specific MBBS qualifications are harder to verify due to limited digital records. The list above focuses on post-2000 recipients where MBBS status is clearer, supplemented by notable pre-2000 names from Wikipedia’s category ().
• Exclusion of Non-MBBS Recipients: Some Padma Shri awardees in medicine (e.g., traditional medicine practitioners like Hemchand Manjhi or veterinarians like Kushal Konwar Sharma) are excluded as they lack MBBS degrees.
• Total Estimate: Over 120 Padma Awards were given in medicine from 2011–2018 alone, and many recipients likely hold MBBS degrees, but not all are explicitly documented as such. As of 2025, 3,448 Padma Shri awards have been conferred across all fields (), with medicine being a significant category.
  A
  K. A. Abraham
  Kiritkumar Mansukhlal Acharya
  Subrat Kumar Acharya
  Suresh H. Advani
  Yogi Aeron
  K. K. Aggarwal (cardiologist)
  Sudarshan K. Aggarwal
  M. M. S. Ahuja
  Ilias Ali (surgeon)
  Madanur Ahmed Ali
  Manjula Anagani
  B. K. Anand
  Nitya Anand
  Noshir H. Antia
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Anil Kumar Bhalla
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2019 December 4
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Log/2019 November 26
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/P. B. Buckshey
  Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Vijay Prakash Singh
  S. N. Arya
  Ashok Kumar Mahapatra
  Philip Augustine
  B
  S. S. Badrinath
  Rajendra Achyut Badwe
  Pukhraj Bafna
  Sanjeev Bagai
  Jasbir Singh Bajaj
  G. Bakthavathsalam
  Padma Bandopadhyay
  Kalyan Banerjee (homoeopath)
  Sushovan Banerjee
  Jyoti Bhushan Banerji
  Abhay and Rani Bang
  Ajit Kumar Basu
  Mukesh Batra
  Raj Baveja
  Himmatrao Bawaskar
  Digambar Behera
  P. V. Benjamin
  Anil Kumar Bhalla
  Mahendra Bhandari
  Balram Bhargava
  Dinesh K. Bhargava
  Sneh Bhargava
  Bir Bhan Bhatia
  Neerja Bhatla
  George William Gregory Bird
  Ernest Borges
  Raj Bothra
  Vipin Buckshey
  Budhendra Kumar Jain
  C
  Ram Kumar Caroli
  Dorothy Chacko
  Indira Chakravarty
  Praveen Chandra
  T. S. Chandrasekar
  C. R. Chandrashekar
  Mammen Chandy
  Vaidya Suresh Chaturvedi
  Ranjit Roy Chaudhury
  Harpinder Singh Chawla
  Yogesh Kumar Chawla
  K. M. Cherian (doctor)
  T. J. Cherian
  Mani Kumar Chetri
  Balswarup Choubey
  Pradeep Chowbey
  Kirpal Singh Chugh
  Krishna Chandra Chunekar
  D
  Vijay Kumar Dada
  Vilas Dangre
  Subroto Das (doctor)
  Taraprasad Das
  Prokar Dasgupta
  Rathin Datta
  P. K. Dave
  Reuben David
  Robert Brocklesby Davis
  Munishwar Chandar Dawar
  Luis Jose De Souza
  M. G. Deo
  Vijayalakshmi Deshamane
  Alaka Deshpande
  Ramakant Krishnaji Deshpande
  Durga Deulkar
  T. V. Devarajan
  K. T. Dholakia
  Yeshi Dhonden
  Sharad Kumar Dixit
  Vijaykumar Vinayak Dongre
  E
  John Ebnezar
  F
  Tony Fernandez (ophthalmologist)
  G
  G Nachiyar
  Daljeet Singh Gambhir
  Ramniklal K. Gandhi
  A. G. K. Gokhale
  Saroj Chooramani Gopal
  Coluthur Gopalan
  Kodaganur S. Gopinath
  Nagarur Gopinath
  Saibaba Goud
  B. K. Goyal
  Pawan Raj Goyal
  Rajesh Kumar Grover
  Yash Gulati
  J. S. Guleria
  Randeep Guleria
  Amod Gupta
  Laxmi Chand Gupta
  Narmada Prasad Gupta
  Saroj Gupta
  Vishwa Kumar Gupta
  H
  Chittoor Mohammed Habeebullah
  Hakim Abdul Hameed
  Khalid Hameed, Baron Hameed
  Jitendra Mohan Hans
  Sharad Moreshwar Hardikar
  K. P. Haridas
  Mahdi Hasan
  Mansoor Hasan
  Daya Kishore Hazra
  Ashok Kumar Hemal
  Hemant Kumar (physician)
  Indira Hinduja
  Vera Hingorani
  J
  Thenumgal Poulose Jacob
  Jerusha Jhirad
  Stanley John
  Leela Joshi
  M. M. Joshi (ophthalmologist)
  Shashank R. Joshi
  Pramod Kumar Julka
• 
  K
  Santosh Kumar Kacker
  Mathew Kalarickal
  Mohan Kameswaran
  Ravi Kannan R
  Ravi Kant (surgeon)
  Raman Kapur
  Sudam Kate
  Upendra Kaul
  Hakim Syed Khaleefathullah
  V. R. Khanolkar
  Gulshan Rai Khatri
  Milind Vasant Kirtane
  Jugal Kishore (physician)
  Narayana Panicker Kochupillai
  Anil Kohli
  Ravindra and Smita Kolhe
  Kushal Konwar Sarma
  Prakash Nanalal Kothari
  Alka Kriplani
  Jalakantapuram Ramaswamy Krishnamoorthy
  Sundaram Krishnamurthy
  Rajagopalan Krishnan
  Atul Kumar (ophthalmologist)
  Harsh Kumar
  Lalit Kumar
  P. R. Krishna Kumar
  Ramesh Kumar (nephrologist)
  Bimola Kumari
  Shiv Narain Kureel
  P. N. V. Kurup
  L
  T. P. Lahane
  T. K. Lahiri
  Lakshmikutty
  Arvind Lal
  Tsering Landol
  Lata Desai
  Hilda Mary Lazarus
  Mary Poonen Lukose
  Usha Kehar Luthra
  M
  M. K. Krishna Menon
  Harsh Mahajan (radiologist)
  J. S. Mahashabde
  Vikas Mahatme
  Anil Kumari Malhotra
  G. N. Malviya
  S. C. Manchanda
  Shyama Prasad Mandal
  Ganesh Kumar Mani
  Hemchand Manjhi
  C. N. Manjunath
  Vikram Marwah
  K. P. Mathur
  Amit Prabhakar Maydeo
  Shiela Mehra
  Mahesh Prasad Mehray
  Ashwin Balachand Mehta
  Keiki R. Mehta
  Veer Singh Mehta
  Mohan Mishra
  Anoop Misra
  Murugappa Channaveerappa Modi
  V. Mohan
  P. V. A. Mohandas
  Arunoday Mondal
  Vamsi Mootha
  Siddhartha Mukherjee
  Mukti Prasad Gogoi
  Mukut Minz
• M
  S. C. Munshi
  N
  Nitish Naik
  J. Hareendran Nair
  M. Krishnan Nair (doctor)
  M. Subhadra Nair
  P. Namperumalsamy
  Atluri Sriman Narayana
  Narendra Prasad Misra
  Lavu Narendranath
  Mayilvahanan Natarajan
  Vallalarpuram Sennimalai Natarajan
  Yarlagadda Nayudamma
  Prabhu Dayal Nigam
  Soniya Nityanand
  Dattatreyudu Nori
  Samiran Nundy
  O
  Omesh Kumar Bharti
  Lucy Oommen
  P
  J. M. Pahwa
  B. Palaniappan
  K. R. Palaniswamy
  Ashok Panagariya
  Chandrakant Pandav
  Jitendra Nath Pande
  Narendra Kumar Pandey
  Chintaman Govind Pandit
  M. C. Pant
  Radhe Shyam Pareek
  Nalini Parthasarathi
  M. N. Passey
  Hanumantha Rao Pasupuleti
  Tejas Patel
  Krishna Mohan Pathi
  Shivajirao Patwardhan
  Kamaljit Singh Paul
  Edith Helen Paull
  Jose Chacko Periappuram
  A. Marthanda Pillai
  Raghu Ram Pillarisetti
  Cyrus S. Poonawalla
  Sunil Pradhan
  Vijay Prakash (gastroenterologist)
  Balendu Prakash
  Kameshwar Prasad
  L. S. N. Prasad
  Narendra Prasad (surgeon)
  Prema Dhanraj
  R
  Radha Krishan Dhiman
  Hakim Syed Zillur Rahman
  M. R. Rajagopal
  P. K. Rajagopalan
  Arjunan Rajasekaran
  Ashok Rajgopal
  C. Venkata S. Ram
  Jagat Ram
  Shishupal Ram
  Kadiyala Ramachandra
  Karimpat Mathangi Ramakrishnan
  Vulimiri Ramalingaswami
  Balasubramaniam Ramamurthi
  D. S. Rana
  B. N. B. Rao
  B. Ramana Rao
  Dasari Prasada Rao
  Gullapalli Nageswara Rao
  Kakarla Subba Rao
  Kamini A. Rao
  S. V. Adinarayana Rao
  Ratan Chandra Kar
  Amar Prasad Ray
  D. Nageshwar Reddy
  Perugu Siva Reddy
  Harbhajan Singh Rissam
  Shanti Roy
  Sanduk Ruit
  S
  S. Srinivasa Sriramacharyulu
  Malvika Sabharwal
  Mahipal S. Sachdev
  Thanikachalam Sadagopan
  Dhananjay Diwakar Sagdeo
  Sarbeswar Sahariah
  Manoranjan Sahu
  G. S. Sainani
  S. K. Sama
  Krishnaswami Srinivas Sanjivi
  Balu Sankaran
  Isaac Santra
  Immaneni Sathyamurthy
  Krishna Gopal Saxena
  Rajan Saxena (physician)
  Veeraswamy Seshiah
  Ashok Seth
  Kamal Kumar Sethi
  P. K. Sethi
  Prahlad Kumar Sethi
  Sudhir V. Shah
  Shaik Khader Noordeen
  V. Shanta
  Yog Raj Sharma
  Devi Shetty
  Shyama Prasad Mukherjee (physician)
  Daljit Singh (ophthalmologist)
  Gurdip Singh (professor)
  Harkishan Singh
  Jai Pal Singh
  Jitendra Kumar Singh
  Khushdeva Singh
  Laishram Nabakishore Singh
  Rabindra Narain Singh
  Ram Harsh Singh
  Bhim Singhal
  Gopal Prasad Sinha
  Indu Bhushan Sinha
  Arvinder Singh Soin
  Suniti Solomon
  Bhupathiraju Somaraju
  Sandra Desa Souza
  Hariharan Srinivasan
  M. V. Padma Srivastava
  Randhir Sud
  T
  Nikhil Tandon
  Prakash Narain Tandon
  Amrit Tewari
  C. P. Thakur
  B. Paul Thaliath
  K. Vardachari Thiruvengadam
  Sheo Bhagwan Tibrewal
  J. S. Titiyal
  Naresh Trehan
  Devendra Triguna
  Kamalakar Tripathi
  Hargovind Laxmishanker Trivedi
  U
  K. N. Udupa
  Tehemton Erach Udwadia
  Om Prakash Upadhyaya
  V
  Ashok K. Vaid
  Shrinivas S. Vaishya
  M. S. Valiathan
  R. Marthanda Varma
  Jamshed Vazifdar
  Natteri Veeraraghavan
  Thiruvengadam Veeraraghavan
  C. U. Velmurugendran
  G. S. Venkataraman
  Ramaswami Venkataswami
  Govindappa Venkataswamy
  Mary Verghese
  Mahesh Verma
  G. Vijayaraghavan
  Gopal Krishna Vishwakarma
  Sivapatham Vittal
  W
  Purshottam Lal Wahi
  Mohsin Wali
  R. Ranchandra Vishwanath Wardekar
  P. K. Warrier
  Harbans Singh Wasir
  Y
  Bhakti Yadav
  Raj Vir Singh Yadav
  Yazdi Italia
• Sources: The list draws from,,,,,,,,,,, and Wikipedia’s category of Padma Shri recipients in medicine.