New Delhi: President of India Droupadi Murmu will confer the National Awards to Teachers (NAT) 2026 on 21 teachers and faculty members from higher education institutions (HEIs) and polytechnics at Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi, on September 5, 2026, on the occasion of Teachers’ Day.
According to the Press Information Bureau (PIB), the 21 awardees include 12 teachers/faculty members from central higher education institutions, five from state universities and colleges, and four from polytechnics. The state university and college category comprises three government and two private institutions, while the polytechnic category includes two government and two private institutions.
The awardees have been recognised for exemplary contributions to education and academic excellence. The selection was based on parameters including teaching-learning effectiveness, outreach activities, research and innovation, sponsored research, faculty development programmes and consultancy teaching.
The nominations for NAT 2026 were invited online through the Rashtriya Puraskar Portal from May 26 to July 20, 2026. The process allowed self, institutional and peer nominations as part of the Jan Bhagidari initiative. The selection involved a two-stage process comprising an initial evaluation by a Preliminary Search-cum-Screening Committee, followed by selection by a Committee of Jury.
21 Awardees Recognised Across Diverse Disciplines
The list released by the Department of Higher Education covers a wide range of academic disciplines, including architecture, engineering, sciences, medicine, management, mass communication, Sanskrit, dance, physical education and yoga.
Among the awardees is Prof. Avlokita Agrawal of IIT Roorkee, recognised in Sustainable Architecture and Built Environment. Other awardees from central institutions include faculty members from IIT Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, IIT Bhubaneswar, IIT Gandhinagar, IISER Bhopal, IIT Bombay, the National Forensic Sciences University, IIT Kanpur, Hemvati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University, Jawaharlal Nehru Medical College, AIIMS Mangalagiri and Manipur University.
The state university and college awardees include faculty from Banaras Hindu University, Gauhati University, Karnataka Sanskrit University and Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University. The polytechnic category includes awardees from institutions in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra.
The National Awards to Teachers were expanded in 2023 to include teachers and faculty members from HEIs and polytechnics. Earlier, the awards were limited to school teachers. The expansion was undertaken in line with the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which emphasises incentives, rewards and recognition to promote a culture of excellence across the education ecosystem.
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