In every competitive exams, questions related to awards and their field is asked. The candidates are advised to have complete knowledge of major awards and their details. On this page we have provided list of the most important Awards along with their Fields for the upcoming competition exams.
Highest civilian awards in India
Bharat Ratna
It is the highest civilian award of the India.Instituted in 1954, the award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. The award was given for outstanding achievements in the arts, literature, science and public services but the government expanded the criteria to include “any field of human endeavour”. The number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year. The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna were politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist C. V. Raman, who were honoured in 1954 Lal Bahadur Shastri became the first individual to be honored posthumously. Sachin Tendulkar is the youngest recipient of Bharata Ratna. He was awarded in 2014. Two non-Indians got Bharata Ratna till now. They are Pakistan national Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan and former South African President Nelson Mandela
Padma Vibushan is the second-highest civilian award of India. It is instituted in 1954
Padma Bushan
Padma Bushan is the third highest civilian award of India. It is instituted in 1954
Padma Shri
Padmasri is the third highest civilian award of India. It is instituted in 1954
Military Awards
Param Vir Chakra:
The Param Vir Chakra is India’s highest military decoration awarded for the displaying distinguished acts of valor during wartime.
Established on 26th Jan 1950
First Param Vir Chakra recipient- Major Somanatha Sharma
Ashoka Chakra
The Ashoka Chakra is India’s highest peacetime military decoration awarded for valor, courageous action or self-sacrifice away from the battlefield.
Flt. Lt. Suhas Biswas was the first Indian Air Force officer to be awarded the Ashoka Chakra
Hangpandada was the recent recipient of Ashoka Chakra
Awards in Literature
Saraswati Samman (Literature)
The award was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. It is an annual award given for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any 22 Indian languages. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India. The inaugural award was given to Harivanshrai ‘Bachchan’ for his four volume autobiography in Hindi language. The winning candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winners.
Jnanpith award (Literature)
The award was instituted in 1961 and it is presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a trust founded by the Sahu Jain family, the publishers of the newspaper The Times of India. It is an annual award given for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any 22 Indian languages. The first recipient of the award was the Malayalam writer G. Sankara Kurup who received the award in 1965 for his collection of poems, Odakkuzhal (The Bamboo Flute), published in 1950. In 1976, Bengali novelist Ashapoorna Devi became the first woman to win the award and was honored for the 1965 novel Pratham Pratisruti (The First Promise), the first in a trilogy.
Vyas Samman (Literature)
The award annually by the K.K. Birla Foundation in recognition of the Hindi literary work published in past 10 years.It was founded in 1991
Bihari Puraskar (Literature)
It is Bihari Puraskar is a literary award instituted by K. K. Birla Foundation. The award is named after the famous Hindi poet Bihari and is awarded to an outstanding work published in Hindi or Rajasthani, published during the last ten years by a Rajasthani writer. The category of Rajasthani writers includes those who have been staying in Rajasthan for the past seven years or more and the original residents of the state who are staying anywhere in the country now.
Moorti Devi Award (Literature)
It is an annual literary award in India presented by the Bharatiya Jnanpith organization for a work which emphasizes Indian philosophy and culture.
Sports Swards
Arjuna Award
The Arjuna Awards are given by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, government of India to recognize outstanding achievement in National sports. The Government has modified the format of Arjuna Award very recently and as per the revised schematic guidelines a sportsperson must have very good consistent performances for the previous 4 years at the international level to be considered as eligible for the Award. Further, the number of disciplines for which the award is given was increased to include indigenous games and the physically handicapped category.
Dronacharya Award:(Eminent coaches of any particular sport)
The Dronacharya Award is officially known as Dronacharya Award for Outstanding Coaches in Sports and Games. This very award is not related with the sports-persons who are still playing in the field; instead this is related to those eminent coaches of any particular sport. The award is named after Drona, often referred as “Dronacharya” or “Guru Drona”, a character from the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata of ancient India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Instituted in 1985, the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World Cup along with Cricket, Indigenous Games, and Parasports. The first recipients of the award were Bhalachandra Bhaskar Bhagwat (Wrestling), Om Prakash Bhardwaj (Boxing), and O. M. Nambiar (Athletics), 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. The award that is given to the veteran sport-spersons of India for their lifetime achievement in their respective field of sports. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The award is named after Dhyan Chand (1905 – 79), an Indian field hockey player who scored more than 1000 goals during a career which spanned over 20 years from 1926 to 1948. Instituted in 2002, the award is given only to the disciplines included in the events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, Commonwealth Games, World Championship and World Cup along with Cricket, Indigenous Games, and Parasports. The first recipients of the award were Shahuraj Birajdar (Boxing), Ashok Diwan (Hockey), and Aparna Ghosh (Basketball), who were honored in 2002.
Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award
The Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna is officially known as Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award in Sports and Games. It is the highest honor bestowed to a sportsperson for his/her achievements in India. It is awarded annually by the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. The award is named after Rajiv Gandhi, former Prime Minister of India who served the office from 1984 to 1989. Instituted in 1991–92, the award was given for the performance by a sportsperson in a year. A twelve-member committee evaluates the performances of a sportsperson at various International events like Olympic Games, Paralympic Games, Asian Games, and Commonwealth Games. The first recipient of the award was Chess Grandmaster Viswanathan Anand, who was honoured for the performance in the year 1991–92. In 2001, sport shooter Abhinav Bindra, then aged 18, became the youngest recipient of the award.
BCCI Awards
The BCCI Awards are given for excellence in cricket.
National Bravery Awards
The National Bravery Awards are a set of awards given annually to about 25 Indian children for “meritorious acts of bravery against all odds.” The awards are given by the Government of India and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). The award was instituted in 1952. The National Bravery Awards consist of five categories, which are listed below:
The Bharat Award, since 1987
The Sanjay Chopra Award, since 1978
The Geeta Chopra Award, since 1978
The Bapu Gaidhani Award, since 1988
General National Bravery Awards, since 1957
The awards are given to children who were between the ages of six to eighteen when they committed their acts of bravery.
Cinema/Films Awards
Dadasaheb Phalke Award (Cinema/Films)
It is India’s highest award in cinema. It is presented annually at the National Film Awards ceremony by the Directorate of Film Festivals, an organisation set up by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The recipient is honoured for their “outstanding contribution to the growth and development of Indian cinema”. First presented in 1969, the award was introduced by the Government of India to commemorate Dadasaheb Phalke’s contribution to Indian cinema. Phalke (1870–1944), who is popularly known as and often regarded as “the father of Indian cinema”, was an Indian film-maker who directed India’s first full-length feature film, Raja Harishchandra (1913). The first recipient of the award was actress Devika Rani, who was honoured at the 17th National Film Awards.
National Film awards
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremonies in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government’s Directorate of Film Festivals since 1973.
The Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize for Science and Technology (SSB) is a science award in India given 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.
Kalinga Prize (Science)
The Kalinga Prize for the Popularization of Science is an award given by UNESCO for exceptional skill in presenting scientific ideas to lay people.
International Awards
Pulitzer Prize (Journalism)
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It recognizes distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life, published during the preceding calendar year. First awarded in 1917.
It is an award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature, and musical composition in the United States.
Abel Prize (Mathematics)
It is an international prize awarded annually by the Government of Norway to one or more outstanding mathematicians. The purpose is to award the Abel Prize for outstanding scientific work in the field of mathematics. The Abel Prize was established on 1 January 2002.
Stirling Prize (Architecture)
The Royal Institute of British Architects Stirling Prize is a British prize for excellence in architecture.
Aga Khan Award (Architecture)
The Aga Khan Award for Architecture (AKAA) is an architectural prize established by Aga Khan IV in 1977. It aims to identify and reward architectural concepts that successfully address the needs and aspirations of Islamic societies in the fields of contemporary design, social housing, community development and improvement. The award is associated with the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), an agency of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN).
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prize is widely regarded as the most prestigious award available in the fields of literature, medicine, physics, chemistry, peace, and economics. Click to read more about Nobel Prize.
Pritzker Prize (Architecture)
The Pritzker Architecture Prize is awarded annually “to honor a living architect.
OSCAR Awards
Also known as academy awards
OSCAR is given annually by AMPAS – American Motion Picture Arts and Sciences
First awarded in the year 1929
Grammy Awards
It is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry.
Booker Prize (Literature)
It is an annual award for the best original novel, written in the English language, and published in the UK literary award. It was instituted in 1969 by Man group
