RRB NTPC · Bite-size lessons

Awards and Honours

About 7 min · General Awareness · English

Time worked out from the lesson's 529 words at 150 words a minute, plus a minute for each question.

Awards and Honours is a topic in RRB NTPC General Awareness. This topic intersects with Current Affairs (last 12 months' awardees), Famous Personalities, and Government of India schemes. Questions may ask: "Who received X award in year Y?", "Which is the highest civilian/sports/literary award?", or "Match the award to its field".

Key ideas

• Civilian Awards: India's civilian honours recognize exceptional service in any field. The hierarchy (highest to lowest) is Bharat Ratna → Padma Vibhushan → Padma Bhushan → Padma Shri. Padma Awards are announced on the occasion of Republic Day each year; the Bharat Ratna has no fixed date.
• Gallantry Awards: Military and civilian bravery awards have three tiers. Wartime (descending): Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra, Vir Chakra. Peacetime: Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra, Shaurya Chakra. Param Vir Chakra is India's highest military decoration.
• Sports Awards: Conferred by Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports. Major categories: Khel Ratna (now renamed Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna, highest sports honour), Arjuna Award (outstanding performance), Dronacharya Award (coaches), Dhyan Chand Award (lifetime achievement), Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar (promotion of sports).
• Literary Awards: Jnanpith Award is the highest literary honour in India, given for lifetime contribution to Indian literature in any of the 22 scheduled languages or English. Sahitya Akademi Awards recognize outstanding literary works annually in each language. Booker Prize (with a sister International Booker Prize for translated fiction) and Pulitzer are international prizes with some Indian winners.
• Award Bodies: President of India confers Bharat Ratna, Padma Awards and gallantry decorations. Sahitya Akademi (autonomous body under Ministry of Culture) gives Sahitya Akademi Awards. Jnanpith Award is given by Bharatiya Jnanpith organization (private trust). Sports Ministry confers National Sports Awards.

Watch out for

• Confusing Padma order — Students often reverse Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan. Remember: Vibhushan (sounds bigger) is higher than Bhushan. Think Vi-Bhu-Shri descending.
• Mixing wartime and peacetime gallantry — Param Vir Chakra is wartime only. Ashoka Chakra is for peacetime. Many assume PVC is always highest; specify context. In exams, "highest gallantry in peacetime" = Ashoka Chakra, not PVC.
• Wrong award body — Jnanpith is not a government award; it's from Bharatiya Jnanpith (private). Sahitya Akademi is autonomous but government-funded. President confers Bharat Ratna and Padma Awards personally; Sports Ministry announces sports awards.

Quick reference

• Civilian hierarchy: Bharat Ratna > Padma Vibhushan > Padma Bhushan > Padma Shri
• Highest gallantry wartime: Param Vir Chakra (PVC); peacetime: Ashoka Chakra
• Highest sports award: Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna (₹25 lakh); Arjuna for consistency (₹15 lakh)
• Highest literary award: Jnanpith (₹11 lakh); Sahitya Akademi annual in 24 languages (₹1 lakh)
• Award announcement dates: Padma (Republic Day; Bharat Ratna has no fixed date); Gallantry (26 Jan, 15 Aug); Sports (traditionally 29 Aug, National Sports Day; recent editions later)

Check yourself: 3 questions

This lesson is cut from the topic's note, not rewritten. Fact-checked on 18 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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