List of all 15 National Florence Nightingale Award 2026 winners & achievements — key current affairs for NORCET, AIIMS, RRB exams. Prep free on Medusera.
Every year, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare honours India’s finest nursing professionals with the National Florence Nightingale Award, and 2026 was no exception. On 12 May, International Nurses Day, President Droupadi Murmu conferred this year’s awards on 15 nurses at a ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, recognising decades of frontline service across some of the country’s most demanding healthcare settings. For nursing students preparing for NORCET, AIIMS Nursing Officer, RRB, or state PSC exams, this list is exactly the kind of current affairs question that shows up in the General Knowledge section, so it’s worth knowing well.
What Is the National Florence Nightingale Award?
Instituted by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the National Florence Nightingale Award is India’s highest civilian recognition for nurses, midwives, auxiliary nurse midwives, and lady health visitors. It is open to nursing professionals serving under Central and State Governments, Union Territories, and voluntary organisations, and it celebrates exactly the qualities the profession is built on: dedication, compassion, and resilience in patient care.
National Florence Nightingale Award 2026 — Key Highlights
This year’s ceremony took place on International Nurses Day, with Union Health Minister J.P. Nadda and Union Minister of State for Health Prataprao Jadhav also in attendance. The theme for International Nurses Day 2026 was “Our Nurses. Our Future. Empowered Nurses Save Lives,” a fitting backdrop for honouring nurses who have spent decades strengthening India’s public health system.
Each of the 15 awardees received a Certificate of Merit, a cash prize of ₹1,00,000, and a medal, a small token set against careers that, in several cases, span three to four decades of uninterrupted service.
Complete List of National Florence Nightingale Award 2026 Winners
ANM Category
- Ms Kulwinder Parhi — Ladakh (UT)
- Ms Ujwala Mahadev Soyam — Maharashtra
- Ms Lalenthangi Hnamte — Mizoram
- Ms Madhu Mala Gurung — Sikkim
- Ms Pooja Parmar Rana — Uttarakhand
- Ms Gita Karmakar — West Bengal
Nurse Category
- Ms Poonam Verma — Chandigarh (UT)
- Ms Deepa Biju — Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (UTs)
- Dr Sharwan Kumar Dhaka — Delhi
- Ms Raksha Rupo Parvatkar — Goa
- Ms Kavitha Jagannath — Karnataka
- Ms Manju Mol V S — Keralam
- Ms Aysha Beebi K — Lakshadweep (UT)
- Prof (Dr) R Shankar Shanmugam — Tamil Nadu
- Major Gen Lissamma P V — IHQ of MoD (Army), Delhi
Award Winner Profiles — Achievements at a Glance
Each citation tells its own story of service in difficult terrain or under extraordinary pressure. Ms Kulwinder Parhi, an ANM and Sub-Inspector at Frontier Hospital, Leh, has spent 28 years managing high-altitude illnesses in some of Ladakh’s harshest conditions. Ms Ujwala Mahadev Soyam has worked for 24 years in Naxal-affected and tribal areas of Gadchiroli, Maharashtra, with a strong record on reducing female foeticide through community counselling.
Ms Lalenthangi Hnamte has served 25 years in Mizoram’s remote hill communities, often reaching patients only by foot or boat. Ms Madhu Mala Gurung’s 38-year career in Sikkim included frontline COVID-19 response and disaster relief during floods. Ms Pooja Parmar Rana became the first COVID-19 vaccinator in the Yamuna bank area of Uttarakhand, achieving 100 percent vaccination coverage in her zone. Ms Gita Karmakar, who has lived with a 40 percent disability, completed over four decades of service in tribal West Bengal, often travelling by bicycle to reach patients.
On the Nurse side, Ms Poonam Verma, a Nursing Officer in Chandigarh, is an ALS and BLS trainer who helped draft ICU standard operating procedures. Ms Deepa Biju rose from Nursing Officer to Assistant Nursing Superintendent over 30 years in Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Dr Sharwan Kumar Dhaka, a Public Health Nursing Officer in Delhi, led Delhi’s North-West district to the top vaccination coverage spot during the pandemic.
Ms Raksha Rupo Parvatkar of Goa has spent 29 years strengthening continuing nursing education programmes, while Ms Kavitha Jagannath at NIMHANS Bengaluru has 26 years of service in mental health nursing administration. Ms Manju Mol V S from Kerala is recognised for rescuing a psychiatric patient and saving a choking child, alongside developing COVID care protocols. Ms Aysha Beebi K of Lakshadweep famously conducted a mid-flight delivery while airlifting a high-risk pregnant patient, saving both mother and child.
Prof (Dr) R Shankar Shanmugam, Principal of the College of Nursing at Madras Medical College, has shaped nursing education in Tamil Nadu over a 26-year career, including a role in establishing five nursing colleges in the state. And Major General Lissamma P V, Additional Director General of Military Nursing Services, caps a four-decade career marked by leadership across the Indian Army’s nursing cadre.
