Awards & Honours
Awards and honours form a compact and high-scoring topic in the India General Knowledge section of the ADRE 3.0 Grade IV paper. Questions from this area are usually direct: which is India's highest civilian award, who received the first Bharat Ratna, which is the highest gallantry award given in peacetime, who won the Jnanpith Award, and so on. Because the answers are fixed facts, this topic rewards a candidate who has memorised a clean and ordered list. This page brings together the national awards of India, their order of importance, the categories in which they are given and the famous recipients who are most likely to be asked in the examination.
Why Awards and Honours Matter in the Syllabus
Awards and honours test general awareness and the ability to recall names, years and categories correctly. In the ADRE Grade IV General Knowledge paper this topic appears under static general knowledge and current affairs combined. The examiner is not testing deep analysis here but accuracy of memory, so a well-organised list of awards with their order, year of institution and field of recognition is enough to secure the marks. The topic also overlaps with sports, culture and current affairs, which makes it efficient to study alongside those sections.
The Highest Civilian Awards
The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of India. It was instituted in 1954 and is given for exceptional service in art, literature, science and public service. In 1954 the first Bharat Ratna was awarded to three persons: C. Rajagopalachari, C. V. Raman and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan. The Bharat Ratna is not a title, and it is not used as a prefix or a suffix before or after a person's name. After the Bharat Ratna come the Padma awards, in the order of Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. The Padma awards are announced every year on Republic Day, while the recommendations are made by a committee and approved by the Prime Minister and the President. The Bharat Ratna is conferred by the President of India, and the number of awards given in a year is not fixed.
Gallantry and Service Awards
India also has a graded system of gallantry awards for the armed forces and for civilians. The Param Vir Chakra is the highest military gallantry award, given for the most conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy during wartime. The Ashoka Chakra is the highest gallantry award given in peacetime, and it can be awarded to civilians as well. Below these come the Maha Vir Chakra and the Kirti Chakra, followed by the Vir Chakra and the Shaurya Chakra. Gallantry awards are announced twice a year, on Republic Day and on Independence Day. For distinguished service, the armed forces have awards such as the Param Vishisht Seva Medal, the Ati Vishisht Seva Medal and the Vishisht Seva Medal. Bravery among children is recognised through the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, which was earlier called the National Bravery Award.
Literary, Cultural and Film Awards
The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary award of India. It was instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, and the first award was given in 1965 to G. Sankara Kurup for his Malayalam work Odakkuzhal. Several Assamese writers have won the Jnanpith Award, including Birendra Kumar Bhattacharya, Indira Goswami and Nilmani Phookan, which makes this award especially important for candidates from Assam. The Sahitya Akademi Award is given for outstanding literary works in the recognised languages of India, and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award is given for achievements in music, dance and drama. In cinema, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is the highest honour. It was instituted in 1969 and the first recipient was Devika Rani. The National Film Awards, given every year, are also important, and the Best Feature Film and Best Actor and Actress awards are frequently asked.
Sports Awards
In the field of sports, the Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is the highest sporting honour of India, and it was earlier known as the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award. The Arjuna Award is given for outstanding performance in sports, the Dronacharya Award is given to outstanding coaches, and the Dhyan Chand Award is given for lifetime achievement in sports. The Tenzing Norgay National Adventure Award recognises achievement in adventure sports. Candidates should remember that the Khel Ratna is the top award, followed by the Arjuna Award, and that the Dronacharya Award is for coaches rather than players.
How This Topic Appears in the Examination
The questions from this topic are usually one-mark objective questions. Typical questions ask which is the highest civilian award, who was the first recipient of an award, in which year an award was instituted, which award is given for a particular field such as literature or cinema, and which award is given in peacetime rather than wartime. Because the facts are short, the topic can be revised quickly, and the same facts often appear in mock tests and previous year papers. A candidate who keeps one clean chart of awards is unlikely to lose marks here.
Memory Tips
Remember the civilian awards in descending order as Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri. Remember the gallantry order as Param Vir Chakra, Maha Vir Chakra and Vir Chakra for wartime, and Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra for peacetime. Link the Jnanpith with literature, the Dadasaheb Phalke with cinema, the Khel Ratna with sports and the Dronacharya with coaching. Remember the year 1954 for the Bharat Ratna and the year 1969 for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. These simple links make the whole topic easy to recall under exam pressure.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Confusing the Param Vir Chakra with the Ashoka Chakra, one being the wartime award and the other the peacetime award.
- Thinking that the Bharat Ratna is a title that is attached to a name, when it is only an award.
- Mixing the order of the Padma awards and placing Padma Shri above Padma Bhushan.
- Forgetting that the Dronacharya Award is given to coaches and not to players.
- Confusing the Jnanpith Award with the Sahitya Akademi Award, since both are literary awards.
How to Prepare This Topic
- Prepare a table of civilian, gallantry, literary, film and sports awards with their order.
- Note the year of institution and the first recipient of the most important awards.
- Learn the names of famous Indian and Assamese recipients of the Jnanpith and Sahitya Akademi awards.
- Read award-related current affairs for the last two years, since recent winners are often asked.
- Revise the list and attempt objective questions once every week.
Additional Points to Remember
The Bharat Ratna and the Padma awards are civilian awards, while the Param Vir Chakra and the Ashoka Chakra are gallantry awards, and the two families should never be mixed. The Padma awards are announced on Republic Day, whereas the gallantry awards are announced on Republic Day and Independence Day. The Jnanpith Award is given for a body of literary work in any of the languages listed in the Eighth Schedule, and it is one of the few Indian awards of which Assamese writers can be justly proud. Awards in India are also given for social service, for science and for public administration, so the candidate should keep the broad categories in mind.
Advanced Tips
When a question mentions literature, think of the Jnanpith and the Sahitya Akademi, and when it mentions cinema, think of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. When a question mentions bravery, first decide whether the context is wartime or peacetime, because that single word decides whether the answer is the Param Vir Chakra or the Ashoka Chakra. When a question mentions a coach, the answer is usually the Dronacharya Award. Remember that the Khel Ratna is the highest sports award and that the Arjuna Award comes next. Keeping the years of institution and the first recipients of the top awards in memory solves most questions from this topic.
Related Topics
Awards and honours are closely related to the India General Knowledge topics of important days and dates, sports, and the India rivers, mountains and states section. Awards are announced on well-known dates, such as Republic Day and Independence Day, which links this topic to important days. Many award questions concern sportspersons and coaches, which links the topic to sports. Literary and cultural awards often mention states of India, linking the topic to the states and culture sections. Studying these topics together gives a complete picture of India's awards and honours.
Quick Revision Checklist
- The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of India and was instituted in 1954.
- The order of civilian awards is Bharat Ratna, Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
- The Param Vir Chakra is the highest wartime gallantry award and the Ashoka Chakra the highest peacetime award.
- The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary award and the Dadasaheb Phalke Award the highest film award.
- The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award is the highest sports award of India.
- The Dronacharya Award is given to coaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which is the highest civilian award of India?
The Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award of India, instituted in 1954 and conferred by the President of India.
Which is the highest gallantry award given in peacetime?
The Ashoka Chakra is the highest gallantry award given in peacetime, and it can also be awarded to civilians.
Which is the highest literary award of India?
The Jnanpith Award is the highest literary award of India, instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith.
Who received the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award?
Devika Rani received the first Dadasaheb Phalke Award in 1969, and it is the highest honour in Indian cinema.
What is the highest sports award of India?
The Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna Award, earlier called the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award, is the highest sports award of India.