Awards questions appear in almost every competitive exam — UPSC Prelims, SSC CGL, SSC CHSL, Railways, CUET, and state PSCs. The tricky part is that the syllabus is broad but the actual questions cluster around a predictable set. Bharat Ratna, Padma hierarchy, Gallantry Awards, and the current year's Nobel and sports winners cover roughly 80% of what shows up. This guide gives you the complete picture, organized so you can revise it fast before an exam.
India's highest civilian honour. Awarded for exceptional service of the highest order to the nation — no fixed criteria, can go to any field including arts, literature, science, and public service. Not given every year. Only 53 people have received it since 1954.
| Year | Recipient | Field |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Karpoori Thakur (Posthumous) | Social Justice & Politics |
| 2024 | LK Advani | Politics |
| 2024 | PV Narasimha Rao (Posthumous) | Politics & Economics |
| 2024 | MS Swaminathan (Posthumous) | Agriculture Science |
| 2024 | Chaudhary Charan Singh (Posthumous) | Politics |
| 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee | Politics & Statesmanship |
| 2019 | Bhupen Hazarika (Posthumous) | Music & Culture |
| 2015 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Politics |
Announced every Republic Day (January 26). Three tiers: Padma Vibhushan (second highest overall civilian award), Padma Bhushan, and Padma Shri. Cover all fields — art, literature, sports, medicine, science, public affairs. Foreigners and NRIs can receive Padma awards — this is a frequently tested fact.
| Award | National Rank | Given for | Typical per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bharat Ratna | 1st | Highest service to nation | 0–5 (not every year) |
| Padma Vibhushan | 2nd | Exceptional & distinguished service | 4–8 |
| Padma Bhushan | 3rd | Distinguished service of high order | 10–20 |
| Padma Shri | 4th | Distinguished service in any field | 80–120 |
Awarded for acts of bravery. The key thing exams test here is the hierarchy — specifically knowing which is wartime vs peacetime and which ranks higher within each category.
| Award | Type | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Param Vir Chakra (PVC) | Wartime | Highest military award overall |
| Maha Vir Chakra (MVC) | Wartime | 2nd highest |
| Vir Chakra (VC) | Wartime | 3rd highest |
| Ashok Chakra | Peacetime | Highest peacetime gallantry |
| Kirti Chakra | Peacetime | 2nd highest peacetime |
| Shaurya Chakra | Peacetime | 3rd highest peacetime |
PVC has been awarded only 21 times since 1947. 14 of those were posthumous. The first recipients were from the 1947 Kashmir War. This statistic comes up surprisingly often in SSC exams.
India's highest sports honour. Renamed from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna to Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna in 2021 — the renaming itself is a GK question. Given for spectacular and outstanding performance over four years.
Given for consistent outstanding performance in international events. More sportspeople receive this than Khel Ratna. Exams test both who received it and which sport they represent.
Given to coaches, not players. Named after Dronacharya from the Mahabharata. Exams occasionally ask you to identify whether a famous sports personality received Arjuna or Dronacharya — know which is for players and which is for coaches.
| Award | Given to | For |
|---|---|---|
| Major Dhyan Chand Khel Ratna | Players | Highest sports honour — spectacular 4-year performance |
| Arjuna Award | Players | Consistent international performance |
| Dronacharya Award | Coaches | Outstanding coaching at international level |
| Dhyan Chand Award | Retired players | Lifetime achievement and sports development |
Both are major Indian literary awards, but they are completely different in nature. This distinction shows up in nearly every exam that covers literary awards.
| Feature | Jnanpith Award | Sahitya Akademi Award |
|---|---|---|
| Given by | Bharatiya Jnanpith (private body) | Sahitya Akademi (Govt. body) |
| For | Lifetime contribution to Indian literature | Specific book published in last 5 years |
| Languages | Eighth Schedule languages | 24 recognized languages |
| Posthumous | Not given | Not given |
| Prestige | Considered higher | Highly respected, more frequent |
This is a guaranteed question in almost every competitive exam at some point. Know every name, year, and field — not just the famous ones.
| Name | Year | Nobel Field | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rabindranath Tagore | 1913 | Literature | First Asian to win Nobel |
| C. V. Raman | 1930 | Physics | Raman Effect; first Indian scientist |
| Har Gobind Khorana | 1968 | Physiology/Medicine | US citizen, Indian origin |
| Mother Teresa | 1979 | Peace | Albanian-born, Indian citizen |
| Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar | 1983 | Physics | US citizen; Chandrasekhar Limit |
| Amartya Sen | 1998 | Economics | Welfare economics |
| VS Naipaul | 2001 | Literature | Trinidad-born, Indian origin |
| Venkatraman Ramakrishnan | 2009 | Chemistry | UK citizen; ribosome structure |
| Kailash Satyarthi | 2014 | Peace | Child rights activist (India) |
| Abhijit Banerjee | 2019 | Economics | US citizen; MIT professor |
Often called Asia's Nobel Prize. Given by the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation (Philippines) for government service, public service, community leadership, journalism, peace, and international understanding. Many prominent Indians have won it — Arvind Kejriwal (2006), Kiran Bedi (1994), Aruna Roy, Jayaprakash Narayan, and others. This is tested frequently because it bridges Indian and international GK.
Awarded annually by the Government of India. Not restricted to Indians — international leaders and organisations have received it. Tests your knowledge of non-Indian recipients specifically.
Presented by the Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India. The Dadasaheb Phalke Award (lifetime achievement) is the most tested. Know who it is named after and why — Dhundiraj Govind Phalke directed Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first full-length feature film. That origin story comes up repeatedly.
AMU and JMI papers both test GK questions like these. Practice with real previous year questions — completely free, no login needed.