The Padma Bhushan Award was incepted in the year 1954 by the Government of India. The award is considered as the third highest civilian award in India and is ranked only after the Bharat Ratna and Padma Vibhushan awards. The award is presented to the extraordinarily talented and successful people from different fields to recognise their talents and also to appreciate their outstanding achievements. The Indian citizens as well as the foreign citizens are eligible to receive the award for their achievements. 25 people won the Padma Bhushan Award in the year 2002.
The list of the 2002 Padma Bhushan Awardees is given below:
| Name | Field | State | Country |
| Prabha Atre | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Habib Tanvir | Arts | Madhya Pradesh | India |
| Ismail Merchant | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Kattassery Joseph Yesudas | Arts | Kerala | India |
| Zakir Hussain | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Shobha Gurtu | Arts | Maharashtra | India |
| Jagat Singh Mehta | Civil Service | Rajasthan | India |
| Maharaja Krishna Rasgotra | Civil Service | Delhi | India |
| Bellur Krishnamachar Sundara Raja Iyengar | Literature & Education | Maharashtra | India |
| Mario De Miranda | Literature & Education | Goa | India |
| Nirmal Verma | Literature & Education | Delhi | India |
| Yevgeni Petrovich Chelyshev | Literature & Education | - | Russia |
| Natesan Rangabashyam | Medicine | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Sushantha Kumar Bhattacharyya | Public Affairs | - | United Kingdom |
| Shri Frank Pallone | Public Affairs | - | United States |
| Shri Gary Ackerman | Public Affairs | - | United States |
| Kottayan Katankot Venugopal | Public Affairs | Delhi | India |
| Vangalampalayam Chellappagounder Kulandaiswamy | Science & Engineering | Tamil Nadu | India |
| Faquir Chand Kohli | Science & Engineering | Maharashtra | India |
| Guri Ivanovich Marchuk | Science & Engineering | - | Russia |
| Ramanujam Varatharaja Perumal | Science & Engineering | Kerala | India |
| Hari Pal Singh Ahluwalia | Social Work | Delhi | India |
| Chandu Borde | Sports | Maharashtra | India |
| Henning Holck Larsen | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra | India |
| Pravinchandra Varjivan Gandhi | Trade & Industry | Maharashtra | India |
