Awards & Honours

About 6 min · General Knowledge & Current Affairs · English

Time worked out from the lesson's 423 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.

Awards & Honours is a topic in Maharashtra Police Bharti exams, appearing in the General Knowledge section. Questions typically ask about award recipients (current and historical), the awarding body, the field/category, and basic facts like "who was the first Indian to win X" or "which award is given for Y."

Key ideas

Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, with a ceiling of three awards in a year (exceeded in 1999 and 2024). It recognises exceptional service in any field, including art, literature, science, and public service. Any person is eligible, without distinction of race, occupation, position or sex.
Padma Awards form a three-tier hierarchy: Padma Vibhushan (exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of high order), and Padma Shri (distinguished service). Announced on Republic Day eve (25th January).
Gallantry Awards are divided into wartime (Param Vir Chakra → Maha Vir Chakra → Vir Chakra) and peacetime (Ashoka Chakra → Kirti Chakra → Shaurya Chakra). PVC is the highest wartime honour.
Nobel Prize is awarded in six categories: Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, and Economics. Awarded in Stockholm (Sweden), except Peace Prize in Oslo (Norway).
National Sports Awards include Khel Ratna (highest sports honour, renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna), Arjuna Award, Dronacharya Award (coaches), and Dhyan Chand Award (lifetime achievement).

Watch out for

Confusing Nobel Prize ceremony locations → Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo (Norway); all other five categories are awarded in Stockholm (Sweden). Students often assume all are in Sweden.
Mixing up Padma Award hierarchy → Remember: Vibhushan > Bhushan > Shri. A common trick is reversing the order. Think "VBS" in descending order of prestige.
Assuming all Indian Nobel winners were Indian citizens → Har Gobind Khorana (1968, Medicine) and Abhijit Banerjee (2019, Economics) were of Indian origin but held US citizenship when awarded.

Quick reference

Bharat Ratna: Highest civilian; maximum three a year (exceeded in 1999 and 2024); first in 1954 to C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan, C.V. Raman.
Padma Awards: Announced 25th January; VBS order (Vibhushan → Bhushan → Shri).
PVC: Highest wartime gallantry; 21 recipients; Major Somnath Sharma was first.
Ashoka Chakra: Highest peacetime gallantry; peacetime equivalent of PVC.
Nobel: Six fields; Peace in Oslo, rest in Stockholm; Tagore first Indian (1913).

Check yourself: 3 questions

1. The Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, was instituted in which year?
2. Which of the following gallantry awards can be awarded to civilians as well as military personnel?
3. The Padma Awards are announced on which occasion every year?

This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 21 Oct 2026: an AI-assisted check of this note against cited sources; the errors it found were corrected that day. Some errors may remain. The questions are from Shishya's validated question bank.

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