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Awards & Honours

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Awards & Honours

Introduction

  • Awards and honours are given both at individual and group level as a token of appreciation or recognition for an extraordinary work. Government of India gives several honours every year to those who have achieved outstanding merit in their field.

Awards Given by Government of India

Bharat Ratna

  • The title “Bharat Ratna” literally means “Jewel of India.”
  • It is the highest civilian award bestowed by the Republic of India.
  • Bharat Ratna is awarded to exceptional individuals who have performed in the highest order.
  • The award was first given in 1954.
  • Originally, it was awarded for outstanding achievements in art, science, literature, and public service.
  • In December 2011, the criteria were expanded to include “any field of human endeavour.”
  • The Prime Minister of India makes recommendations to the President of India for the award.
  • The President can choose not more than three individuals in a particular year for the award.
  • Awardees receive a peepal-leaf shaped medal and a certificate (sanad), but no monetary award.
  • According to the Indian Order of Precedence, Bharat Ratna awardees are ranked seventh.
  • The award cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient’s name, as per Article 18(1) of the Constitution.
 
Year Recipients About
 Bharat Ratna 1954 C. Rajagopalachari Activist, statesman, and lawyer
 Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan  India’s first Vice-President and second President
C. V. Raman Physicists, mathematicians, and scientists
 Bharat Ratna 1955 Bhagwan Das Activist, philosopher, and educationist
M. Visvesvaraya Civil engineer, statesman, and Diwan of Mysore
Jawaharlal Nehru Activist and author served as the Prime Minister of India
Bharat Ratna 1957 Govind Ballabh Pant Activist and first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh
Bharat Ratna 1958 Dhondo Keshav Karve Social reformer and educator
Bharat Ratna 1961 Bidhan Chandra Roy Physician, political leader, philanthropist, educationist, and social worker
Purushottam Das Tandon Activist and speaker of the United Provinces Legislative Assembly
Bharat Ratna 1962 Rajendra Prasad Activist, lawyer, statesman, and scholar
Bharat Ratna 1963 Zakir Husain Activist, economist, and education philosopher served as a Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and the Governor of Bihar
Pandurang Vaman Kane Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, known for his five-volume literary work
Bharat Ratna 1966 Lal Bahadur Shastri Activist and served as the second Prime Minister of India
Bharat Ratna 1971 Indira Gandhi  First women Prime Minister of India
Bharat Ratna 1975 V. V. Giri Trade Unionist
Bharat Ratna 1976 K. Kamaraj Independence activist and statesman, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Bharat Ratna 1980 Mother Teresa  Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity.
1983 Vinoba Bhave  Activist, social reformer, and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi
Bharat Ratna 1987 Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan First noncitizen, independence activist
Bharat Ratna 1988 M. G. Ramachandran Actor turned politician, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu
Bharat Ratna 1990 B.R. Ambedkar Social reformer and leader of the Dalits
Nelson Mandela Leader of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, President of South Africa
Bharat Ratna 1991 Rajiv Gandhi Gandhi was the ninth Prime Minister of India serving from 1984 to 1989.
Vallabhbhai Patel Activist and first Deputy Prime Minister of India
Morarji Desai Activist, and Prime Minister of India
Bharat Ratna 1992 Abul Kalam Azad Activist and first Minister of education
J. R. D. Tata Industrialist, philanthropist, and aviation pioneer
Satyajit Ray Director, filmmaker, writer, novelist
Bharat Ratna 1997 Gulzarilal Nanda Activist, and interim Prime Minister of India.
Aruna Asaf Ali Activist
A.P.J Abdul Kalam Aerospace and defense scientist
Bharat Ratna 1998 M. S. Subbulakshmi Carnatic classical vocalist
Chidambaram Subramaniam Activist and former Minister of Agriculture of India
Bharat Ratna 1999 Jayaprakash Narayan  Activist, and social reformer
Amartya Sen Economist
Gopinath Bordoloi Activist
Ravi Shankar Musician, sitar player
Bharat Ratna 2001 Lata Mangeshkar Singer
Bismillah Khan Hindustani classical shehnai player
Bharat Ratna 2009 Bhimsen Joshi Hindustani classical vocalist
Bharat Ratna 2014 C. N. R. Rao  Chemist and professor, author
Sachin Tendulkar Cricketer
Bharat Ratna 2015 Madan Mohan Malaviya Scholar and educational reformer.
Atal Bihari Bajpayee Elected nine times to the Lok Sabha, twice to the Rajya Sabha, and served as the Prime Minister of India for three terms.
Bharat Ratna 2019 Pranab Mukherjee Indian politician, and senior leader in the Indian National Congress.
Nanaji Deshmukh A social activist from India, education, health, and rural self-reliance.
Bhupen Hazarika  Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet, and filmmaker from Assam.
Bharat Ratna 2024 (Posthumously) Karpoori Thakur A renowned socialist leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar
Bharat Ratna 2024 Lal Krishna Advani A Veteran Bhartiya Janta Party Leader
Bharat Ratna 2024 PV Narsimha Rao Former Prime Minister
Bharat Ratna 2024 Chaudhary Charan Singh A former Prime Minister who supported the agricultural sector and upheld the rights of the farmers.
Bharat Ratna 2024 MS Swaminathan Father of Green Revolution

Padma Awards

  • These awards were introduced in 1954 and are being given to deserving individuals for their exceptional services in their chosen fields like Sports, Art, Social work, Civil Service, Literature and Education, Public Affairs, Science and Technology, Trade and Industry, etc. The names of the awardees are announced every year on Republic Day.

The Padma Awards have been given every year except three times:

• In the year 1977
• In the year 1980
• Between 1993-1997

There are several rules concerning the Padma awards: for example:

  • If someone is a recipient of a lesser degree of the Padma awards, they can be awarded a higher degree only after five or more years since the last conferment.
  • The awards are rarely given posthumously, but exceptions can be made if the case highly deserves.
  • There ought to be an element of public service in the achievements of the person to be selected. It should not be merely on the basis of excellence in any field, but based on excellence plus.
  • Government servants, including those working in PSUs, except doctors and scientists, are not eligible for these awards.

According to the Government of India, the awards are of three categories:

  1. Padma Vibhushan : For exceptional and distinguished service (Second Degree Honour)
  2. Padma Bhushan : For distinguished service of a high order (Third Degree Honour)
  3. Padma Shri : For distinguished service (Fourth Degree Honour)

Padma Vibhushan 

  • It is the second highest civilian award given by the Republic of India. Those privileged to get the award are given a citation certificate and a medal, which has a lotus flower in the middle and the words ‘Desh Seva’, embossed on the obverse

Padma Bhushan

  • It is the third highest civilian award given by the government of India for those who have contributed to India’s reputation in the global scenario.
  • The President of India confers the award in an elaborate ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhawan in March or April.
Padma Shri
  • It is the fourth highest civilian award in the Republic of India.
  • The award is given by the Government of India for distinguished contributions to various fields like arts, literature, sports, politics, industry, medicine, social service, etc.
  • The awardee does not receive cash but is given a certificate and a medallion.
  • The medallion features a three-leafed flower on one side and “Padma” (lotus) and “Shri” (Mr. or Ms.) written in Devanagari script on the obverse side.

Padma Vibhushan 2024

Winner Field
Vyjayantimala Bali Art
Konidela Chiranjeevi Art
M Venkaiah Naidu Public Affairs
Bindeshwar Pathak (Posthumous) Social Work
Padma Subrahmanyam Art
Padma Bhushan 2024
Winner Field
M Fathima Beevi (Posthumous) Public Affairs
Hormusji N Cama Literature & Education – Journalism
Mithun Chakraborty Art
Sitaram Jindal Trade & Industry
Young Liu Trade & Industry
Ashwin Balachand Mehta Medicine
Satyabrata Mookherjee (Posthumous) Public Affairs
Ram Naik Public Affairs
Tejas Madhusudan Patel Medicine
Olanchery Rajagopal Public Affairs
Dattatray Ambadas Mayaloo alias Rajdutt Art
Togdan Rinpoche (Posthumous) Others – Spiritualism
Pyarelal Sharma Art
Chandreshwar Prasad Thakur Medicine
Usha Uthup Art
Vijaykanth (Posthumous) Art
Kundan Vyas Literature & Education – Journalism

Padma Shri 2024

Winner Field
Khalil Ahamad Art
Badrappan M Art
Kaluram Bamaniya Art
Rezwana Choudhury Bannya Art
Naseem Bano Art
Ramlal Bareth Art
Gita Roy Barman Art
Parbati Baruah Social Work
Sarbeswar Basumatary Others – Agriculture
Som Datt Battu Art
Takdira Begum Art
Sathyanarayana Beleri Others – Agriculture
Drona Bhuyan Art
Ashok Kumar Biswas Art
Rohan Machanda Bopanna Sports
Smriti Rekha Chakma Art
Narayan Chakraborty Science & Engineering
A Velu Ananda Chari Art
Ram Chet Chaudhary Science & Engineering
K Chellammal Others – Agriculture
Joshna Chinappa Sports
Charlotte Chopin Others – Yoga
Raghuveer Choudhary Literature & Education
Joe D Cruz Literature & Education
Ghulam Nabi Dar Art
Chitta Ranjan Debbarma Others – Spiritualism
Uday Vishwanath Deshpande Sports
Prema Dhanraj Medicine
Radha Krishan Dhiman Medicine
Manohar Krishana Dole Medicine
Pierre Sylvain Filliozat Literature & Education
Mahabir Singh Guddu Art
Anupama Hoskere Art
Yazdi Maneksha Italia Medicine
Rajaram Jain Literature & Education
Jankilal Art
Ratan Kahar Art
Yashwant Singh Kathoch Literature & Education
Zahir I Kazi Literature & Education
Gaurav Khanna Sports
Surendra Kishore Literature & Education – Journalism
Dasari Kondappa Art
Sridhar Makam Krishnamurthy Literature & Education
Yanung Jamoh Lego Others – Agriculture
Jordan Lepcha Art
Satendra Singh Lohia Sports
Binod Maharana Art
Purnima Mahato Sports
Uma Maheshwari D Art
Dukhu Majhi Social Work
Ram Kumar Mallick Art
Hemchand Manjhi Medicine
Chandrashekhar Mahadeorao Meshram Medicine
Surendra Mohan Mishra (Posthumous) Art
Ali Mohammed & Ghani Mohammed (Duo) Art
Kalpana Morparia Trade & Industry
Chami Murmu Social Work
Sasindran Muthuvel Public Affairs
G Nachiyar Medicine
Kiran Nadar Art
Pakaravur Chithran Namboodiripad (Posthumous) Literature & Education
Narayanan E P Art
Shailesh Nayak Science & Engineering
Harish Nayak (Posthumous) Literature & Education
Fred Negrit Literature & Education
Hari Om Science & Engineering
Bhagabat Padhan Art
Sanatan Rudra Pal Art
Shankar Baba Pundlikrao Papalkar Social Work
Radhe Shyam Pareek Medicine
Dayal Mavjibhai Parmar Medicine
Binod Kumar Pasayat Art
Silbi Passah Art
Shanti Devi Paswan & Shivan Paswan (Duo) Art
Sanjay Anant Patil Others – Agriculture
Muni Narayana Prasad Literature & Education
K S Rajanna Social Work
Chandrashekar Channapatna Rajannachar Medicine
Bhagwatilal Rajpurohit Literature & Education
Romalo Ram Art
Navjivan Rastogi Literature & Education
Nirmal Rishi Art
Pran Sabharwal Art
Gaddam Sammaiah Art
Sangthankima Social Work
Machihan Sasa Art
Omprakash Sharma Art
Eklabya Sharma Science & Engineering
Ram Chander Sihag Science & Engineering
Harbinder Singh Sports
Gurvinder Singh Social Work
Godawari Singh Art
Ravi Prakash Singh Science & Engineering
Seshampatti T Sivalingam Art
Somanna Social Work
Kethavath Somlal Literature & Education
Shashi Soni Trade & Industry
Urmila Srivastava Art
Nepal Chandra Sutradhar (Posthumous) Art
Gopinath Swain Art
Laxman Bhatt Tailang Art
Maya Tandon Social Work
Aswathi Thirunal Gouri Lakshmi Bayi Thampuratty Literature & Education
Jagdish Labhshanker Trivedi Art
Sano Vamuzo Social Work
Balakrishnan Sadanam Puthiya Veetil Art
Kurella Vittalacharya Literature & Education
Kiran Vyas Others – Yoga
Jageshwar Yadav Social Work
Babu Ram Yadav Art

National Film Awards

  • These are amongst the most prominent awards given for cinematic excellence.
  • The awards are annual and started in 1954.
  • In 1973, the Directorate of Film Festivals was made responsible for organizing these awards.
  • The Government appoints a national selection panel to decide the winners.
  • The President of India presents the awards.
  • The winning films are showcased to the public.
  • The awards recognize excellence not only in Indian Bollywood Cinema but also in the best films from regional categories.

Following are the five major categories, which receive this award

  • The National Film Awards also include the very prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award which is presented to those who have spent their entire career to contribute to the Indian Cinema.
Sahitya Akademi Award
  • This is an honour given to those who achieve brilliance in literature.
  • The award was instituted in 1954 and is given by the Sahitya Akademi, the National Academy of Letters of India.
  • It is given annually to those who have achieved literary merit and created new trends by publishing their works, prose or poetry, in any of the 24 major languages recognized by the Akademi.
  • Besides the 22 languages enumerated in the Constitution of India, Sahitya Akademi has recognized English and Rajasthani as eligible languages for the award.
  • The award comprises a cash prize of ₹1 lakh and a plaque that says “Sahitya” in Devanagari script.
  • The very famous Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray designed the plaque.
  • On many occasions, the award has been returned or declined as an act of protest.

Other Literary Honours

 
Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
  • The Sahitya Akademi offers a prestigious fellowship called the “Sahitya Akademi Fellowship.”
  • This is the highest honour conferred by the Akademi.
  • Fellows and Honourary Fellows are selected solely based on their outstanding contribution to the literary arts.
  • Becoming a fellow of the Sahitya Akademi is considered a higher honour than receiving the Sahitya Akademi award.
Bhasha Samman
  • These awards are also given by the Sahitya Akademi.
  • Every year, the Akademi chooses writers who have made significant contributions to Indian languages other than the 24 major languages covered under the Sahitya Akademi award.
  • The awards are also given for contributions to classical and medieval literature.
  • The Bhasha Samman comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹1 lakh.
Translation Awards
  • These awards are also given by the Sahitya Akademi.
  • They are awarded to those who have translated major works from other languages into the 24 major languages.
  • Special importance is given to translations of ancient and medieval literature.
  • The prize consists of a cash prize of ₹50,000 and a plaque.
Jnanpith Award
  • Also known as the Gyanpeeth Award (Seat of Knowledge), it is given for outstanding literary achievement.
  • The award was instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a trust run by the Jain family, famous for founding the newspaper The Times of India.
  • It is awarded to Indian citizens who compose literature in one of the 22 languages listed in the Schedule VIII of the Indian Constitution and English.
  • The award includes a plaque, a cash prize of ₹11 lakh, and a bronze statue of Goddess Saraswati.
  • The award is not given posthumously.
  • There are 23 languages (22 + English) in which the Jnanpith Award is given.
Saraswati Samman
  • The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 Indian languages listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.
  • It is named after the Indian goddess of learning and is considered one of the highest literary awards in India.
  • Instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation, the award consists of ₹15 lakh, a citation, and a plaque.
  • Candidates are selected based on their literary works published in the past 10 years.
Vyas Samman
  • The Vyas Samman is a literary award, first awarded in 1991. It is awarded,annually again by the K. K. Birla Foundation and includes a cash payout of ₹250,000. To be eligible for the award, the literary work must be in Hindi language and has been published in the past 10 years.

Dada Saheb Phalke Award

  • Introduced in 1969, the Dada Saheb Phalke Award is India’s highest award in cinema.
  • It commemorates Dada Saheb Phalke (1870–1944), the legendary filmmaker who made India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913).
  • The award is given by the Directorate of Film Festivals, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
  • It recognizes outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema.
  • A Committee consisting of eminent personalities from the Indian film industry selects the awardee.
  • The award includes a Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) medallion and a cash prize of ₹10 lakh.
THE FUKUOKA PRIZE
  • The award is established by the city of Fukuoka, Japan, to honor individuals or organizations for preserving or creating Asian culture.
  • There are three prize categories: Grand Prize, Academic Prize, and Arts and Culture Prize.
  • Prominent Indian winners include Romila Thapar (1997), Amjad Ali Khan (2004), Ramchandra Guha (2015), A.R. Rahman (2016), Teejan Bai (2018), among others.