The Padma Bhushan Award is considered as one of the highest civilian awards presented in India. In fact, it is ranked as the third highest among all the civilian awards in India, just behind the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan. The Government of India is in charge of presenting the award and it does so, with a view to recognise extraordinary talents from various fields and also to appreciate their achievements. The total number of Padma Bhushan Awardees in the year 1972 was 50 and the winners were honoured for their achievements through this award.
A detailed list of the 1972 Padma Bhushan Awardees is given below:
| Name | Field | State | Country |
| B.N. Sircar | Arts | Bihar | India |
| Papanasan Ramayya Sivam | Arts | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Vinayakrao Patwardhan | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Air Marshal H.C. Dewan | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Air Marshal M.M. Engineer | Civil Service | Gujarat | India |
| Amruti V. Mody | Civil Service | Maharashtra | India |
| Ashwini Kumar | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Benoy Shushan Gosh | Civil Service | West Bengal | India |
| C.C. Bewoor | Civil Service | Karnataka | India |
| Chandrika Prasad Srivastava | Civil Service | - | United Kingdom |
| Inderjit Singh Gill | Civil Service | Maharashtra | India |
| Jagjit Singh Arora | Civil Service | Delhi | India |
| Jai Krishna | Civil Service | Uttar Pradesh | India |
| K. P. Candeth | Civil Service | Delhi | India |
| Khem Karan Singh | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Khusro Faramurz Rustamji | Civil Service | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Mohd. Hayath | Civil Service | Karnataka | India |
| Nori Gopala Krishna Murthi | Civil Service | Andhra Pradesh | India |
| Pran Nath Luthra | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Sagat Singh | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Sartaj Singh | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Sirtaz Singh Sahi | Civil Service | Chandigarh | India |
| Surinder Singh Bedi | Civil Service | Delhi | India |
| T.A. Pai | Civil Service | Karnataka | India |
| T.N. Raina | Civil Service | Jammu and Kashmir | India |
| Vice Nilkanta Krishnan | Civil Service | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Vice Surendra Nath Kohli | Civil Service | Punjab | India |
| Adya Rangacharya | Literature & Education | Karnataka | India |
| Kayalath Pothen Philip | Literature & Education | Maharashtra | India |
| Krishnaswamy Swaminathan | Literature & Education | Delhi | India |
| Pran Nath Chhutani | Literature & Education | Chandigarh | India |
| Baldev Singh | Medicine | Delhi | India |
| Bhalchandra Nilkanth Purandare | Medicine | Maharashtra | India |
| Lakhumal Hiranand Hiranandani | Medicine | Maharashtra | India |
| Shantilal C. Sheth | Medicine | Maharashtra | India |
| Sujay Bhushan Roy | Medicine | West Bengal | India |
| Ayyagiri Sambasiva Rao | Science & Engineering | Andhra Pradesh | India |
| Bal Dattatraya Tilak | Science & Engineering | Maharashtra | India |
| Dattatraya Yeshwant Phadke | Science & Engineering | Maharashtra | India |
| L.A.Krishna Iyer | Science & Engineering | Kerala | India |
| M. Bhardwaja Ramachandra Rao | Science & Engineering | Delhi | India |
| M.S. Swaminathan | Science & Engineering | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Mohinder Singh Randhawa | Science & Engineering | Punjab | India |
| Ram Narayan Chakravarty | Science & Engineering | West Bengal | India |
| Gulestan Rustom Billimoria | Social Work | Maharashtra | India |
| Madhavrao Khandarao Bagal | Social Work | Maharashtra | India |
| Mahashwar Dayal | Social Work | Delhi | India |
| Yashodhara Dasappa | Social Work | Karnataka | India |
| Bharat Ram | Trade & Industry | Delhi | India |
| Syad Hussain Zaheer | Trade & Industry | Andhra Pradesh | India |
