Awards and Honours Notes for Competitive Exams

Awards and honours are a favourite topic of the general awareness section in SSC, banking, railways, defence and state-level examinations, and they are also useful for the UPSC Prelims. Questions can be about the field of an award, the year it started, the first recipient, the awarding body, or the recent winners. This note organises the major awards of India and the world by category, with key facts, first winners and recent updates, followed by memory tricks and practice, in simple language. Please check the latest announcements before your examination, because awards are declared every year.

Civilian Honours of India

The Bharat Ratna, instituted in 1954, is the highest civilian award of India, given for exceptional service in any field of human endeavour. Not more than three persons can be awarded in a year. The first recipients in 1954 were C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. S. Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman. The Padma Awards are of three kinds: Padma Vibhushan (exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of a high order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service). They are announced on the eve of Republic Day. These awards are not titles: under Article 18(1) of the Constitution, the State shall not confer titles, so recipients cannot use them as a prefix or suffix to their names. A national committee headed by the Prime Minister recommends the names, and the President gives the awards.

Gallantry Awards

Literature and Arts Awards in India

The Jnanpith Award, started in 1965 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, is the highest literary honour for writers in Indian languages in the Eighth Schedule and English. The first Jnanpith winner was the Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup (1965). The Sahitya Akademi Awards are given in 24 languages, and the Akademi was set up in 1954. The Saraswati Samman, started in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation, is given for outstanding literary work in any Indian language listed in the Eighth Schedule, published in the previous ten years. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award, started in 1969, is the highest award in Indian cinema, with the first winner being the actress Devika Rani. The National Film Awards are given by the Government of India, with the Swarna Kamal (Golden Lotus) for best film. The Sangeet Natak Akademi Awards honour music, dance and drama, while the Lalit Kala Akademi works in the visual arts.

Sports Awards

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour of India; it was started in 1991-92 as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, with chess player Viswanathan Anand as the first recipient, and was renamed in 2021. The Arjuna Award (started in 1961) is for outstanding performance in sports; the Dronacharya Award (1985) is for coaches; the Dhyan Chand Award is for lifetime achievement; and the Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar honours those who promote sports. The Maulana Abul Kalam Azad Trophy is for the top performing university.

Science and Peace Awards in India

The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for science and technology was given for decades by CSIR; in 2022 the government introduced the Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar, with four categories: Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva-Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar and Vigyan Team. The Gandhi Peace Prize is given for contributions to social, economic and political transformation through non-violence. The Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development is awarded by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust. The Kalinga Prize by UNESCO is given for popularising science and was started with the support of Biju Patnaik.

International Awards and Indian Winners

Recent Bharat Ratna Recipients

In 2024, the Bharat Ratna was announced for Karpoori Thakur, L. K. Advani, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and M. S. Swaminathan. Earlier recipients include Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika (2019), and Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malaviya (2015). Be careful with such lists and always check the latest list of awardees for the year of your examination, as new names are added every year.

Memory Tricks

Group awards by field: literature (Jnanpith, Sahitya Akademi, Saraswati Samman, Booker), cinema (Dadasaheb Phalke, National Film Awards, Oscars), sports (Khel Ratna, Arjuna, Dronacharya), gallantry (Param Vir Chakra, Ashoka Chakra) and peace (Gandhi Peace Prize, Nobel Peace, Magsaysay). Link the first winner with the award: Jnanpith with Sankara Kurup, Khel Ratna with Anand, Phalke with Devika Rani. Remember "Chakra for peacetime, Chakra for wartime": war awards are the Param Vir, Maha Vir and Vir Chakras, while peacetime awards are the Ashoka, Kirti and Shaurya Chakras. Revise the list each week and update the winners from news.

How Awards Are Selected and Given

Understanding the process helps in answering polity-linked questions. For the Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards, recommendations come from the Prime Minister (for Bharat Ratna) and from state governments, ministries, institutions and citizens (for Padma awards, through an online portal). A committee headed by the Cabinet Secretary examines the names, a Padma Awards Committee chaired by the Prime Minister recommends, and the President approves. The awards are presented at the investiture ceremony at Rashtrapati Bhavan, usually in March or April. The Arjuna and Khel Ratna awards are recommended by committees headed by retired judges or eminent sportspersons, and are presented by the President. Gallantry awards are recommended by the armed forces and approved by the President, and are announced on Republic Day and Independence Day. Sahitya Akademi and Jnanpith awards are chosen by juries of writers and scholars. This difference between government awards and awards of private institutions is a point that examiners sometimes use.

Awards for Children and Youth

The Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, which replaced the National Bravery Award, recognises exceptional achievements of children in fields such as innovation, social service, sports, arts and bravery. The National Bravery Award itself was started in 1957 by the Indian Council for Child Welfare, after a young boy, Harish Chandra Mehra, showed courage during a fire accident at a cultural event attended by Jawaharlal Nehru. The National Youth Awards, the Rajiv Gandhi National Sadbhavana Award and the Jeevan Raksha Padak series (for saving lives) are other honours that sometimes appear in the examinations. Learning the stories behind awards makes the facts memorable.

Awards in Science, Economics and Other Fields Abroad

Among international honours, the Fields Medal in mathematics, the Abel Prize in mathematics, the Turing Award in computing, the Pritzker Prize in architecture and the Right Livelihood Award are sometimes asked. The Fields Medal is awarded every four years to mathematicians under 40. The Abel Prize is given by the Norwegian Academy of Science and Letters. The Turing Award is called the Nobel Prize of computing. In sports, the Laureus World Sports Award and the Olympic medals attract questions, as do awards in the film world such as the Cannes Palme d'Or and the Golden Globes. It is good to know the name of the organisation that gives each award, the country where it is based and any Indian winners. Keep revising these areas, and expand your notes as new winners are announced.

Quick Revision

• Bharat Ratna (1954): not more than three per year; awards are not titles (Article 18).
• Jnanpith: 1965, G. Sankara Kurup; Dadasaheb Phalke: 1969, Devika Rani; Khel Ratna: Anand.
• Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award; Ashoka Chakra for peacetime.

Awards are about people and fields. Use the tables, add recent winners, and keep revising; with this approach, you will be able to answer even the tricky questions confidently.

Related Notes to Read Next

Continue your preparation with these related notes from the same subject:

• Important Books and Authors Notes for Competitive Exams
• Important Organisations and Headquarters Notes
• Sports General Knowledge Notes for Competitive Exams
• All General Awareness notes

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

What is the highest civilian award in India?

The Bharat Ratna, instituted in 1954, is the highest civilian award of India.

How many Bharat Ratna awards can be given in a year?

A maximum of three Bharat Ratna awards can be given in a year.

What are the three Padma awards?

The Padma awards are Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri, in descending order of importance.

What is the highest gallantry award in India?

The Param Vir Chakra is the highest gallantry award for bravery in wartime, and the Ashoka Chakra is the highest in peacetime.

Who was the first winner of the Jnanpith Award?

The Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup was the first winner of the Jnanpith Award in 1965.

Who was the first winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award?

The actress Devika Rani was the first winner of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969.

What is the highest sporting honour in India?

The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour of India.

Who was the first recipient of the Khel Ratna?

Chess player Viswanathan Anand was the first recipient of the Khel Ratna in 1991-92.

Which Indian won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998?

Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize in Economics in 1998.

Who won the Booker Prize for The God of Small Things?

Arundhati Roy won the Booker Prize in 1997 for The God of Small Things.

What is the Ramon Magsaysay Award?

It is an Asian award given by the Philippines for outstanding service and is often called Asia’s Nobel Prize. Vinoba Bhave was the first Indian winner in 1958.

Are Padma awards titles?

No. Under Article 18(1) of the Constitution, the State cannot confer titles, so Padma awards cannot be used as prefix or suffix to a name.