The Padma Bhushan Award was incepted in the year 1954 and is considered as one of the most prestigious and honourable civilian awards in India. The award is presented by the Government of India to the highly talented people from different fields like Science & Engineering, Literature & Education, Medicine, Sports, Civil Service, Arts, Trade & Industry, Social Work, Public Affairs, etc. The award is presented to recognise their talents and also to appreciate their achievements. A total of 41 people received the Padma Bhushan Award in the year 1971.
A detailed list of the 1971 Padma Bhushan Awardees is given below:
| Name | Field | State | Country |
| Damal Krishnaswami Pattammal | Arts | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Gangubai Hangal | Arts | Karnataka | India |
| J. Bhudhardas Bhojak | Arts | Gujarat | India |
| Krishna Rao Ganesh Phulambrikar | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Natesaganabadigal Ramaswami Ayyar | Arts | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Nisar Hussain Khan | Arts | Uttar Pradesh | India |
| P Thiruvillvmalai Seshan M. Iyer | Arts | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Pich Sambamootrhy | Arts | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Poyipilli Kunju Kurup | Arts | Kerala | India |
| Rasipuram Krishnaswamy Laxman | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Shri Raj Kapoor | Arts | Punjab | India |
| Ustad Amir Khan | Arts | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Kasturi Lal Vij | Civil Service | Delhi | India |
| Manindra Nath Chakravarti | Civil Service | West Bengal | India |
| Parmeshari Lal Varma | Civil Service | Chandigarh | India |
| A. Vithal Alias Dhananjay Keer | Literature & Education | Maharashtra | India |
| Bhagwati Charan Varma | Literature & Education | Uttar Pradesh | India |
| Jainendra Kumar Jain | Literature & Education | Delhi | India |
| Kalindi Charan Panigrahi | Literature & Education | Orissa | India |
| Kandathil Mammen Cherian | Literature & Education | Kerala | India |
| Suraj Bhan | Literature & Education | Chandigarh | India |
| Veni Shankar Jha | Literature & Education | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Venkatarama Ramalingam Pillai | Literature & Education | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Bishnupada Mukhopadhyaya | Medicine | Bihar | India |
| Madan Mohan Singh | Medicine | Delhi | India |
| Santosh Kumar Mukherjee | Medicine | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Shantilal Jamnadas Mehta | Medicine | Maharashtra | India |
| Vulimiri Ramalingeswami | Medicine | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Pandurang Vasudeva Sukhram | Science & Engineering | Italy | |
| Satish Dhawan | Science & Engineering | Karnataka | India |
| Devchand Chhaganlal Shah | Social Work | Maharashtra | India |
| Gokulbhai Bhatt | Social Work | Rajasthan | India |
| Mungtu Ram Jaipuria | Social Work | Delhi | India |
| Palghat T.S. Mani (N. Ganapatigal Ramaswami) Ayyar | Social Work | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Bhalchandra Digamber Garware | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra | India |
| Jogesh Chandra De | Trade & Industry | West Bengal | India |
| Kadar Nath Mookerjee | Trade & Industry | West Bengal | India |
| Manibhai J. Patel | Trade & Industry | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Ramarao Madhaorao Deshmukh | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra | India |
| Suresh Chandra Roy | Trade & Industry | West Bengal | India |
| Ved Rattan Mohan | Trade & Industry | Uttar Pradesh | India |