President Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Awards to Teachers (NAT) on 21 teachers and faculty members from higher education institutions (HEIs) and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan on September 5, Teachers’ Day, the Ministry of Education said on Monday.
The 2026 awardees include 12 teachers from central higher education institutions, five from state universities and colleges, and four faculty members from polytechnics. Among the five awardees from state institutions, three are from government institutions and two from private colleges. The four polytechnic awardees comprise two from government and two from private polytechnics.
The National Awards to Teachers recognise exemplary teachers and faculty members for their contributions to teaching and learning, outreach activities, research and innovation, and sponsored research, faculty development programmes and consultancy.
This year’s awardees include faculty members from institutions such as IIT Roorkee, IIT Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Gandhinagar, IISER Bhopal, IIT Bombay, IIT Kanpur, AIIMS Mangalagiri and Banaras Hindu University, among others.
The awardees represent a wide range of disciplines, including sustainable architecture and built environment, chemical engineering, electrical and electronics engineering, metallurgy and materials science, plant sciences, earth sciences, forensic pharmacy, chemical sciences, biochemistry, paediatrics, Manipuri dance, management, mass communication, Sanskrit, physical education and yoga, and civil engineering.
Among the 21 awardees are 15 men and six women.
The nominations for NAT 2026 were invited online through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal from May 26 to July 20. The process allowed self, institutional and peer nominations as part of the Jan Bhagidari initiative.
The selection process was conducted in two stages. A Preliminary Search-cum-Screening Committee first shortlisted the nominees, following which a Jury Committee selected the final awardees.
The National Awards to Teachers were expanded in 2023 to include separate categories for faculty members of higher education institutions and polytechnics. Earlier, the awards were primarily conferred on school teachers.
The expansion was undertaken in line with the vision of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises creating a culture of excellence in the education ecosystem through incentives, rewards and recognition.
List of National Awards to Teachers 2026
The 21 awardees include:
Prof. Avlokita Agrawal – IIT Roorkee – Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment
Prof. Kirti Chandra Sahu – IIT Hyderabad – Chemical Engineering
Prof. Vinay Chamola – BITS Pilani – Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Dr Srikant Gollapudi – IIT Bhubaneswar – Metallurgy & Materials Science
Dr Mithun Radhakrishna – IIT Gandhinagar – Chemical Engineering
Prof. Sourav Datta – IISER Bhopal – Plant Sciences
Prof. Vikram Vishal – IIT Bombay – Earth Sciences
Prof. Sarvaiya Jayrajsinh Indrajitsinh – National Forensic Sciences University, Gandhinagar – Forensic Pharmacy and Food Forensics
Prof. Sankar Prasad Rath – IIT Kanpur – Chemical Sciences
Dr Manisha Nigam – Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University – Biochemistry
Dr Amar Mohanrao Taksande – Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, Wardha – Medicine-Paediatrics
Dr Arun Babu – AIIMS Mangalagiri – Medicine-Paediatrics
Dr Pukhrambam Lilabati Devi – Manipur University – Manipuri Dance
Prof. Dr Ashutosh Mohan – Institute of Management Studies, BHU – Management
Prof. Ankuran Dutta – Gauhati University – Mass Communication
Ms Shivani V. – Karnataka Sanskrit University – Sanskrit
Prof. Rajeev Choudhary – Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University – Physical Education and Yoga Education
Dr Vishwanatha H. S. – M.E.I. Polytechnic, Bengaluru – Civil Engineering
Dr Sasikala S. – PSG Polytechnic College, Coimbatore – Electrical & Electronics Engineering
Dr Kannan Rathinam – Sakthi Polytechnic College, Erode – Physics
Dr Sandipann Pralhad Narote – Government Polytechnic, Solapur – Electronics Engineering and Telecommunication
The awards are aimed at recognising excellence in higher education and technical education and encouraging teachers and faculty members to contribute further to teaching, innovation, research and the development of the education ecosystem.
