Awards in India

BHARAT RATNA

• Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in India,is given for exceptional service the advancement of art, literature & science, and in recognition of public service of the highest order.

Facts:

It was awarded first time in 1954 – Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, C. Rajagopalachari, C. V. Raman were the first recipient of the award.

Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first person to be honoured with Bharat Ratna posthumously.
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan was the first foreigner to be honoured with this award in 1987.

PADMA VIBHUSHAN

• PADMA VIBHUSHAN is the second highest civilian award in India award is given for exceptional and distinguished services in any field including service rendered by government servants.

Facts:

The first recipients of the award were Satyendra Nath Bose, Nand Lal Bose, Zakir Hussain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, Jigme Dorji Wangchuck, and V. K. Krishna Menon, who were honoured in 1954.
The Padma Vibhushan, along with other personal civil honours, was briefly suspended twice, from July 1977 to January 1980 and from August 1992 to December 1995. Some of the recipients have refused or returned their conferments.
In 2020 the award has been bestowed upon seven recipients: George Fernandes, Arun Jaitley, Anerood Jugnauth, Mary Kom, Chhannulal Mishra, Sushma Swaraj, and Vishwesha Teertha.

PADMA BHUSHAN

• PADMA BHUSHAN is the third highest civilian award in India The award is given for distinguished service

of a high order in any field, including service rendered by government servants.

Facts:

When instituted in 1954, twenty-three recipients were honoured with the Padma Bhushan.
The Padma Bhushan, along with other personal civil honours, was briefly suspended twice, from July 1977 to January 1980 and from August 1992 to December 1995. Some of the recipients have refused or returned their conferments.
In 2020 16 were awarded with Padma Bhusan.

PADMA SHRI

• PADMA SHRI is the fourth highest civilian award in India the award is given for distinguished service

in any field including service rendered by government servants.

Facts:

When instituted in 1954, seventeen recipients were honoured with the Padma Bhushan.
The Padma Shri, along with other personal civil honours, was briefly suspended twice, from July 1977 to January 1980 and from August 1992 to December 1995. Some of the recipients have refused or returned their conferments.
In 2020 118 were awarded with Padma Shri Award.

GALLANTRY AWARDS

PARAM VIR CHAKRA

• The Param Vir Chakra (PVC) is India’s highest military decoration,which is awarded for the most conspicuous bravery or some daring or pre-eminent act of valour or self-sacrifice in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.

Facts:

The PVC is equivalent to the Medal of Honor in the United States and the Victoria Cross in the United Kingdom.
The Param Vir Chakra also carries a cash allowance for those under the rank of lieutenant (or the appropriate service equivalent), and in some cases a cash award. Upon the death of the recipient, the pension is transferred to the spouse until their death or remarriage. In the case of a posthumous recipient who is unmarried, the allowance is paid to their parents. In the case of the award being conferred posthumously on a widow or widower, the allowance is to be paid to their son or unmarried daughter.[41] A monthly stipend of ₹20,000 is given to the awardee along with their regular pay.[42] The award amount and pension benefits are exempted from income tax. In addition, different ministries under the central government have various financial awards for PVC winners.
The PVC has been awarded 21 times, of which 14 were awarded posthumously
IAF Officer Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon,is the only Indian Air Force officer to have been honoured with the medal.
Subedar Major Bana Singh, Subedar Sanjay Kumar and Subedar Yogendra Singh Yadav, are the only living recipients of the award.

MAHA VIR CHAKRA

The Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) (Great Warrior Medal) is the second highest military decoration in India which is awarded for acts of conspicuous gallantry in the presence of

enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.

Facts:

The circular shaped medal is made of standard silver.
Embossed on the obverse is a five pointed heraldic star with circular center-piece bearing the gilded state emblem of India in the center.
224 acts of bravery and selfless courage have been recognized since the inception of the medal, To date, there are six known awards of a first bar:

VIR CHAKRA

Vir Chakra is third in the order of awards given for act of gallantry in the presence of the enemy, whether on land, at sea or in the air.It replaced the British Distinguished Service Cross (DSC), Military Cross (MC) and Distinguished Flying Cross (DFC)

Facts:

This is circular silver medal. A five pointed star, with the chakra in the center, and, on this, the domed gilded state emblem.
Till date a total of 1322 personals have received Vir Chakra Award

ASHOK CHAKRA

Ashok Chakra is the country’s highest peacetime gallantry award equivalent to Param Vir Chakra.

It is awarded for awarded for valour , courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.

Facts:

To date, 83 people have been awarded the “Ashoka Chakra”.
It was first awarded in 1952, Havildar Bachittar Singh, Flt. Lt. Suhas Biswas,Narbahadur Thapa were among the first to receive this gallantry award.
Flt. Lt. Suhas Biswas was the first Indian Air Force officer to be awarded the Ashoka Chakra.
Neerja Bhanot became the youngest recipient of India’s highest peacetime gallantry, the Ashok Chakra Award.

KIRTI CHAKRA

The Kirti Chakra is an Indian military decoration awarded for valour, conspicuous gallantry,courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the field of battle. It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards.

Facts:

Before 1967, the award was known as the Ashoka Chakra, Class II.
Till date, 462 distinct people have been awarded the “Kirti Chakra”.

SHAURYA CHAKRA

The decoration is the third in order of precedence of peacetime gallantry awards,awarded for an act of

Gallantry,valour,courageous action or self-sacrifice while not engaged in direct action with the enemy.It may be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel, including posthumous awards.

Facts:

This bronze medal is circular in design.
This award was earlier known as “Ashoka Chakra, Class III”
Lt.Col. Krishan Singh Rawat from the elite Special Forces, Major Anil Urs and Havildar Alok Kumar Dubey have been awarded the Shaurya Chakra in 2020.

LITERARY AND CULTURAL AWARDS IN INDIA

SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARD

The Sahitya Akademi Award is is the second-highest literary honor next to a Sahitya Akademi Fellowship,in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India’s National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 24 major Indian languages i.e. English, Rajasthani, and the 22 listed languages in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The award’s purpose is to recognize and promote excellence in Indian writing and also acknowledge new trends.

Facts:

The award comprises a plaque and a cash prize of ₹ 1,00,000. The plaque awarded by the Sahitya Akademi was designed by the Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray.
Till now 60 personals have received the award Makhanlal Chaturvedi being the first to win it in 1955 for his work “Him Tarangini” (Poetry,Hindi).
It’s Head office is in New Delhi.
Sahitya Akademi gives some other awards like: Bhasha Samman Puraskar, Prize for Translation and Bal Sahitya Puraskar.

JNANPITH AWARD

The Jnanpith Award is a literary award in India presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their “outstanding contribution towards literature”.

Facts:

The award was instituted in 1961.
Till now 60 personals have received the award.
Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup was the first recipient of the award, who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950.
This award is bestowed only on English along with other 22 Indian languages.

SANGEET NATAK AKADEMI

PURASKAR (AKADEMI AWARD)

Awarded by the Sangeet Natak Akademi, India’s National Academy of Music and

Dance and Drama.This is the highest Indian recognition given to practising dance, theatre

other additional/folk/tribal/dance/music/theatre and puppetry and contribution/

scholarship in performing arts.

Facts:

Akademi Puraskar carries Rs 1,00,000/- (Rupees one lakh) along with a Tamrapatra and Angavastram.

Last time these awards have been given in 2018 to forty-four artists from the field of Music, Dance, Theatre, Traditional/Folk/Tribal Music/Dance/Theatre, Puppetry and Overall contribution/scholarship in the Performing Arts, including three joint awards as well.

LALIT KALA AKADEMI RATNA

Lalit Kala Akademi Ratna is an honour for the fine arts given to eminent artists for their time achievements in the field of arts is awarded by the Lalit Kala Akademi, India’s National Academy of Art, it is the highest honour in the fine arts conferred by the Government of India.

Facts

The ‘Fellow,’ carries a purse-money of Rs.25,000/-, a citation and a plaque and is honoured with a portfolio about their major art works.
The first elected fellow, in 1955, was the artist Jamini Roy.

SCIENCE AWARDS

SHANTI SWARUP BHATNAGAR AWARD

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award is the highest award for science in India

This prize for science and technology is awarded annually by the Council of

Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental, in biology chemistry, environmental science, engineering, mathematics, medicine and physics under the age of 45 years.

Facts :

It was first awarded in 1958.

The prize is divided into seven disciplines, namely:

Biological Sciences
Chemical Sciences
Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences
Engineering Sciences
Mathematical Sciences
Medical Sciences
Physical Sciences.

The prize money was ₹2 lakh (US$2,800) and was raised to ₹5 lakh (US$7,000) in 2008.
Till now 560 people have won the prestigious Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Award,Sir Kariamanikkam Srinivasa Krishnan being the first one to receive the award in the year 1958(Physics)

BORLAUG AWARD

The Borlaug Award is an award recognition conferred by a fertilizer company, Coromandel International, for outstanding Indian scientists for their research and contributions in the field of agriculture and environment.

Facts :

The award was created in 1972 and named in honour of Nobel Laureate Norman E.
Borlaug.In 1972 Dr. Atmaram Bhairav Joshi became the first person to receive the award.

SPORTS AWARDS

RAJIV GANDHI KHEL RATNA AWARD

The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award is India’s highest honour in sports given for spectacular and most outstanding performance in the field of sports over a year.

Facts:.

The award was instituted in the year 1991-92 and was awarded by Government of India.
As of now total 43 players have received the award,chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand was the first recipient of the Khel Ratna award.
The prize money for the award is ₹25 lakh.
The most recent recipients of the award are Rohit Sharma (Cricket), Mariyappan Thangavelu (Para Athletics), Manika Batra (Table Tennis), Vinesh Phogat (Wrestling), and Rani Rampal (Hockey).

Do Follow:[ National Sports Awards 2020 ]

ARJUNA AWARD:

The Arjuna Award, officially known as Arjuna Awards for Outstanding Performance in Sports and Games is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports,for good performance in the field of sports over the year.

Facts:

The award is named after Arjuna, a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India.
The Arjuna Awards were instituted in the year 1961.
As of 2020, the award comprises “a bronze statuette of Arjuna, certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh.
Till 2020 total 881 persons have received the Arjuna Award.

DRONACHARYA AWARD :

The Dronacharya Award, officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games, is sports coaching honour in India awarded for “outstanding and meritorious work on a consistent basis and enabled sportspersons to excel in international events”.

Facts:

The award is named after Drona, often referred as “Dronacharya” or “Guru Drona”, a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India.
As of 2020, the award comprises a bronze statuette of Dronacharya, a certificate, ceremonial dress, and a cash prize of ₹15 lakh .
Till now a total of 129 coaches have been conferred with the award,Bhalchandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (Wrestling), Om Prakash Bhardwaj (Boxing), and O. M. Nambiar (Athletics) being the first recipients of it,who were honoured in 1985

DHYAN CHAND AWARD :

The Dhyan Chand Award, officially known as Dhyan Chand Award for Lifetime Achievement in Sports and Games, is the is India’s highest award for lifetime achievement in sports and

games, given by the Government of India.

Facts:

The award is named after Major Dhyan Chand (1905–79), an Indian field hockey player.
The first recipients of the award were Shahuraj Birajdar (Boxing), Ashok Diwan (Hockey), and Aparna Ghosh (Basketball), who were honoured in 2002.
Till now a total of 75 sports personalities in India have received the Dhyan Chand Award.