Last reviewed 1 Oct 2026 · Facts as of 1 Oct 2026 · 11 min read
A note on winners. Awards are announced every year (Padma awards on the eve of Republic Day; Nobel Prizes in October). This note gives the rules, the first winners and the well-known historical winners. For the latest year's winners, check the official announcement.
Civilian honours of India
Bharat Ratna
- The highest civilian award of India, instituted in 1954 by President Rajendra Prasad; awarded for exceptional service in any field (art, literature, science, public service; sports were added in 2011). Not more than three are awarded in a year (the limit has been exceeded in a few years, e.g., 2024).
- It is not a title and cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient's name (Article 18(1) does not allow titles; Balaji Raghavan case, 1996 upheld the awards; the 1977 Janata government briefly stopped them and revived them in 1980).
- The first recipients (1954): C. Rajagopalachari, Dr S. Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman.
- Posthumous: first given to Lal Bahadur Shastri (1966); Subhas Chandra Bose (1992) was announced and withdrawn after a court case; Maulana Azad (1992); Dr B. R. Ambedkar (1990); Sardar Patel (1991).
- First non-Indian citizens: Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (1987) and Nelson Mandela (1990). Mother Teresa (1980) was an Indian citizen by naturalisation.
- First woman: Indira Gandhi (1971). First sportsperson: Sachin Tendulkar (2014; the youngest recipient, aged 40). First musician: M. S. Subbulakshmi (1998). Lata Mangeshkar (2001), Ustad Bismillah Khan (2001), Bhimsen Joshi (2009), Pandit Ravi Shankar (1999), Satyajit Ray (1992; filmmaker).
- Recent recipients include Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Madan Mohan Malaviya (2015), Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika (2019), and Karpoori Thakur, L. K. Advani, P. V. Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and M. S. Swaminathan (2024) (check the full list of recipients).
- Design: a peepal-leaf-shaped medallion of bronze (copper), with the Sun and the words "Bharat Ratna" in Devanagari; a white ribbon.
Padma awards
Announced every year on the eve of Republic Day by the Ministry of Home Affairs; the Padma Awards Committee (headed by the Cabinet Secretary) recommends; presented by the President in March–April.
| Award | Rank | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Padma Vibhushan | the second-highest civilian award — "exceptional and distinguished service" | |
| Padma Bhushan | the third-highest — "distinguished service of a high order" | |
| Padma Shri | the fourth-highest — "distinguished service" |
- All were established in 1954 (the Padma Vibhushan was initially called Pahela Varg, Dusra Varg, Tisra Varg). Fields: art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, literature and education, sports, civil service. About 100–150 awards are given every year. Government servants (except doctors and scientists) are not eligible.
- Padma Vibhushan first winners (1954): Satyendra Nath Bose, Nandalal Bose, Zakir Husain, Balasaheb Gangadhar Kher, V. K. Krishna Menon, etc.
- Bharat Ratna, Padma awards are not for any monetary benefit.
Other national honours
- Gallantry awards (see below); Ashok Chakra; Jeevan Raksha Padak (saving lives); Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak; Kirti Chakra; President's Police Medal; Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award; Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar; Nari Shakti Puraskar (for women; 8 March); Rashtriya Bal Puraskar (Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar) for children (26 December, Veer Bal Diwas); National Bravery Award (since 1957, children); Vir Chakra.
Gallantry awards
| Award | For | Order |
|---|---|---|
| Param Vir Chakra (PVC) | the highest wartime gallantry award — most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy | 1st |
| Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) | wartime, second | 2nd |
| Vir Chakra (VrC) | wartime, third | 3rd |
| Ashoka Chakra | the highest peacetime gallantry award | (peacetime 1st) |
| Kirti Chakra | peacetime, second | |
| Shaurya Chakra | peacetime, third |
- Instituted on 26 January 1950 (the peacetime ones as the Ashoka Chakra series in 1952, renamed in 1967). The PVC (a bronze medal with Indra's vajra depicted four times) was designed by Savitri Khanolkar (Eve Yvonne Maday de Maros), a Swiss-born wife of an Indian officer.
- First PVC: Major Somnath Sharma (4 Kumaon Regiment; posthumous; the 1947 Kashmir war). PVC winners (selected): Karam Singh, Joginder Singh, Abdul Hamid (1965), Albert Ekka, Nirmal Jit Singh Sekhon (the only Air Force PVC), Arun Khetarpal (1971), Vikram Batra, Manoj Kumar Pandey, Yogendra Singh Yadav and Sanjay Kumar (Kargil 1999), and Captain Gurbachan Singh Salaria (UN Congo). Only 21 PVCs have been awarded.
- The Ashoka Chakra first awarded in 1952; Naik Neerja Bhanot (the youngest, aged 23, posthumous; Pan Am flight 73 hijack, 1986) is a well-known recipient.