60-second revision
- Bharat Ratna and Padma awards instituted in 1954; Bharat Ratna carries no cash and is not a title (Article 18).
- Bharat Ratna is normally limited to three a year; this was exceeded in 1999 (four) and 2024 (five).
- Padma Awards Committee is headed by the Cabinet Secretary; government servants are ineligible except doctors and scientists.
- Wartime gallantry: Param Vir, Maha Vir, Vir Chakra. Peacetime: Ashoka, Kirti, Shaurya Chakra.
- Khel Ratna renamed after Major Dhyan Chand in 2021; Arjuna Award 1961; Dronacharya (coaches) 1985.
- Jnanpith: first awarded 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam); Dadasaheb Phalke Award: first 1969, Devika Rani.
- Nobel Peace Prize is presented in Oslo; Economics prize first awarded in 1969.
- Fields Medal: mathematicians under 40, every four years; Ramon Magsaysay Award: Philippines, since 1957.
Learn rules, not winner lists
Winner lists change every year, but the rules of an award — who gives it, who is eligible, when it began, who received it first — do not. Exams reward exactly these facts. Learn the latest winners separately, close to the exam, from official sources.
Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards
- Both were instituted in 1954. The first Bharat Ratna recipients (1954) were C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan and C.V. Raman. Posthumous awards are allowed.
- The Bharat Ratna is recommended by the Prime Minister to the President. It carries a certificate (sanad) and a medallion, but no money.
- The number is normally limited to three a year. This was exceeded in 1999 (four awards) and 2024 (five awards).
- The Supreme Court (Balaji Raghavan case, 1995) held that these awards are not titles under Article 18, so they cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to a name.
- Padma awards come in three grades: Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. They are announced on the eve of Republic Day.
- The Padma Awards Committee is constituted by the Prime Minister every year and headed by the Cabinet Secretary.
- Government servants, including PSU employees, are not eligible for Padma awards — except doctors and scientists.
Gallantry awards
| Setting | Highest | Second | Third |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wartime (in the face of the enemy) | Param Vir Chakra | Maha Vir Chakra | Vir Chakra |
| Peacetime (away from the battlefield) | Ashoka Chakra | Kirti Chakra | Shaurya Chakra |
The Param Vir Chakra was instituted on 26 January 1950 with effect from 15 August 1947 and designed by Savitri Khanolkar. Its first recipient was Major Somnath Sharma (posthumously), for the defence of Srinagar airfield in 1947.
Sports awards
| Award | For | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna | Highest sporting honour | Began 1991–92 as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna; renamed in August 2021 |
| Arjuna Award | Outstanding performance by sportspersons | Instituted in 1961 |
| Dronacharya Award | Outstanding coaches | Instituted in 1985 |
Literature and cinema
| Award | Given by | Fact |
|---|---|---|
| Jnanpith Award | Bharatiya Jnanpith (trust) | First awarded 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup for the Malayalam collection Odakkuzhal; open to Eighth Schedule languages and English |
| Sahitya Akademi Award | Sahitya Akademi | Instituted 1954; given in 24 languages |
| Saraswati Samman | K.K. Birla Foundation | Instituted 1991 |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Government of India | India's highest film honour; first given for 1969 to Devika Rani |
| Gandhi Peace Prize | Government of India | Instituted 1995, Gandhi's 125th birth anniversary year |
International prizes
- Nobel Prizes: set up by the will of Alfred Nobel and first awarded in 1901. The Peace Prize is chosen by the Norwegian Nobel Committee and presented in Oslo; the others are presented in Stockholm.
- The Prize in Economic Sciences was created by Sveriges Riksbank in 1968 and first awarded in 1969.
- Early Indian laureates: Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913, the first Asian Nobel laureate) and C.V. Raman (Physics, 1930). Ronald Ross (Medicine, 1902) and Rudyard Kipling (Literature, 1907) were born in India but were British.
- Booker Prize: fiction in English published in the UK and Ireland. International Booker: fiction translated into English; Geetanjali Shree's Tomb of Sand (translated from Hindi by Daisy Rockwell) won in 2022.
- Pulitzer Prize: US journalism, literature and music, administered by Columbia University.
- Ramon Magsaysay Award: set up in 1957 in the Philippines; often called Asia's Nobel Prize.
- Fields Medal: International Mathematical Union, every four years, for mathematicians under 40. Abel Prize: Norwegian Academy, mathematics, no age limit. Turing Award: computing.
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