Initiation of National Awards

In 1954, the Government of India initiated two awards - the Bharat Ratna and the three-tier Padma Awards (Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri) to honour and recognize exceptional talent and distinguished service towards humanity.

Bharat Ratna and the Padma Awards; Image Source: Shortpedia

Being part of an intellectual species involves an endeavour to get better individually and together as a society. With more effort and dedication, some individuals reach potentially higher degrees of intellectual achievement in various fields of study or perform distinguishable services for the betterment and upliftment of society. Recognizing exceptional talent and service to humanity further motivates others to do such work.

On 2 January 1954, India announced the institution of two civilian awards to honour exceptional talent and service - the Bharat Ratna and three-tier Padma Vibhushan (Pahla Warg, Dusra Warg and Teesra Warg). The Padma Vibhushan awards were renamed in 1955 to the three names of Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and Padma Vibhushan.

Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honour and is awarded in recognition of the unprecedented accomplishment of the highest disposition in any field. The Prime Minister nominates the person worthy of the award and recommends them to the President. With the highest number of three recipients every year, it has been awarded to forty-five people in total till date. Every Republic Day, the Padma Awards are honoured - the Vibhushan for exceptional and distinguished service, Bhushan for service of the highest order and Shri for distinguished service. They recognize public service in all and every field. The selection of recipients is handled by the Padma Committee.

C V Raman, S Radhakrishna, Indira Gandhi, Lata Mangeshkar, C Rajagopalchari are a few of the recipients of Bharat Ratna. Though the awards are conferred without any distinction based on religion and gender, only five women have received it so far. Mother Teresa, Nelson Mandela and Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan are the only non-Indians to receive the award.

A maximum of 120 Padma Awards can be bestowed every year in fields and disciplines like art, social work, public affairs, science and engineering, trade and industry, medicine, sports, literature, civil services, etc. The honour cannot be bestowed on a Government Servant with an exception of doctors and scientists.

The awards represent exceptional honour for exceptional talents and services to humanity. The recipients of the award are officially announced, their names registered in the Gazette of India, released by the Ministry of Urban Development.