Veteran playback singer Alka Yagnik receives the Padma Bhushan in 2026 at an investiture ceremony in New Delhi, where President Droupadi Murmu presents the award. Videos from the Rashtrapati Bhavan event circulate online, including clips of Yagnik greeting senior officials; in one, she touches Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s feet and greets him with folded hands. Social media users express concern after seeing her accompanied closely by security and questioning her well-being. In response, Yagnik posts publicly to acknowledge the honour and address health rumours, saying she has been dealing with “difficult health” and has stayed away from the spotlight and public appearances for about two years. She cites ongoing recovery and describes feeling slowly that she is finding her way back, adding that she wants to be there for her listeners as well.
The investiture ceremony, which is the second such round of Padma Awards this year, also includes other film-related honours. Mammootty receives the Padma Bhushan, R Madhavan gets the Padma Shri, and Satish Shah is awarded posthumously. The reports also reference Yagnik’s earlier disclosure in 2024 about rare sensorineural hearing loss linked to a viral attack.
