2.9 Awards, Honours & Sports
Key Takeaways
- The Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award, followed in order of precedence by the Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
- The Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award while the Ashoka Chakra is its highest peacetime equivalent.
- The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna is India's highest sporting honour, renamed in 2021, while the Arjuna Award recognises players and the Dronacharya Award recognises coaches.
- National Sports Day is observed on 29 August, the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
Indian Civilian Awards
Instituted in 1954, the civilian honours run in a strict order of precedence:
| Rank | Award | Awarded for |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bharat Ratna | Exceptional service of the highest order, in any field |
| 2 | Padma Vibhushan | Exceptional and distinguished service |
| 3 | Padma Bhushan | Distinguished service of a high order |
| 4 | Padma Shri | Distinguished service |
Points that generate objective items: the Bharat Ratna carries no monetary grant, and recipients receive a Sanad signed by the President and a peepal-leaf-shaped medallion. The awards are conventionally announced on Republic Day, 26 January. The first recipients of the Bharat Ratna in 1954 were C. Rajagopalachari, Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman.
Gallantry Awards
India distinguishes wartime from peacetime gallantry, and pairing them correctly is the standard question.
| Wartime | Peacetime equivalent |
|---|---|
| Param Vir Chakra (highest) | Ashoka Chakra (highest) |
| Maha Vir Chakra | Kirti Chakra |
| Vir Chakra | Shaurya Chakra |
Distinguished-service decorations include the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and Vishisht Seva Medal. The Param Vir Chakra was designed by Savitri Khanolkar.
Literature, Cinema and Science
| Award | Field | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Jnanpith Award | Literature | Instituted 1961; India's highest literary honour, for writing in any scheduled language |
| Sahitya Akademi Award | Literature | Annual, by language |
| Dadasaheb Phalke Award | Cinema | Instituted 1969; highest Indian film honour |
| National Film Awards | Cinema | Annual, multiple categories |
| Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize | Science and technology | Awarded by CSIR to scientists under 45 |
| Vyas Samman, Saraswati Samman | Literature | Instituted by the K. K. Birla Foundation |
International Awards
- Nobel Prizes were established under Alfred Nobel's will and first awarded in 1901 in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, Literature and Peace. The Economic Sciences prize is not one of the original five; it was instituted by Sveriges Riksbank in 1968. The Peace Prize is awarded in Oslo; all others in Stockholm.
- Indian or India-linked Nobel laureates include Rabindranath Tagore (Literature, 1913, the first Asian laureate), C. V. Raman (Physics, 1930), Mother Teresa (Peace, 1979), Amartya Sen (Economics, 1998) and Kailash Satyarthi (Peace, 2014).
- The Ramon Magsaysay Award, often called Asia's Nobel, is conferred in the Philippines.
- The Man Booker Prize is for fiction in English; the Pulitzer Prize is chiefly for American journalism and letters; the Fields Medal is mathematics' highest honour, awarded every four years to mathematicians under 40.
- The Oscars are conferred by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.
Sports Awards in India
| Award | Recognises |
|---|---|
| Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna | The highest Indian sporting honour; renamed in 2021 from the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna |
| Arjuna Award | Consistently outstanding performance by a player |
| Dronacharya Award | Outstanding coaches |
| Dhyan Chand Award | Lifetime achievement in sport |
| Rashtriya Khel Protsahan Puraskar | Organisations promoting sport |
National Sports Day falls on 29 August, the birth anniversary of Major Dhyan Chand, the hockey player known as "The Wizard". Hockey is closely associated with India's Olympic record, which includes eight gold medals in the sport.
Sports and Their Terms
| Sport | Characteristic terms |
|---|---|
| Cricket | Googly, yorker, LBW, maiden over, follow-on, silly point |
| Hockey | Bully, penalty corner, short corner, dribble |
| Football | Dribble, offside, penalty kick, hat-trick |
| Badminton | Smash, drop shot, deuce, love |
| Tennis | Deuce, ace, volley, let, grand slam |
| Boxing | Knockout, jab, upper cut, punch |
| Chess | Gambit, checkmate, stalemate, castling |
| Athletics | Relay, steeplechase, photo finish |
Trophies and Tournaments
| Trophy | Sport |
|---|---|
| Ranji Trophy, Duleep Trophy, Irani Cup | Domestic cricket |
| Davis Cup, Wightman Cup | Tennis |
| Thomas Cup (men), Uber Cup (women) | Badminton |
| Durand Cup | Football; founded 1888, the oldest football tournament in Asia |
| Santosh Trophy, Subroto Cup | Indian football |
| Ryder Cup | Golf |
| America's Cup | Yachting |
| Agha Khan Cup | Hockey |
Major Event Cycles
| Event | Frequency | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Summer Olympic Games | Every 4 years | Modern Games began Athens 1896; motto Citius, Altius, Fortius - Communiter |
| Asian Games | Every 4 years | First held New Delhi, 1951 |
| Commonwealth Games | Every 4 years | India hosted Delhi 2010 |
| FIFA World Cup | Every 4 years | Football |
| ICC Cricket World Cup | Every 4 years | India won in 1983 and 2011 |
| National Games / Khelo India Games | Periodic | Domestic development platform |
The Olympic rings are five interlocking rings representing the five inhabited continents, and the Olympic flame is lit at Olympia and carried by relay to the host city.
How to Revise This Topic Efficiently
Awards and sports items are pure recall, so treat them as a spaced-repetition list rather than reading material. Build three columns — award, field, and the single distinguishing fact — and review weekly. Because there is no negative marking, an educated guess between two remembered options costs nothing, so never leave such an item blank.
Which is the highest peacetime gallantry award in India?
The Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences differs from the other Nobel Prizes because it:
National Sports Day in India is observed on 29 August to mark the birth anniversary of:
The Dronacharya Award is conferred on: