Important Awards and Their Fields: National and International Awards List for Exams (+ Quiz)

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Important Awards and Their Fields: National and International Awards List for Exams

Award questions appear in every General Awareness section, either as current affairs (“who won the Jnanpith this year?”) or as static GK (“the Pritzker Prize is given in which field?”). This page covers the static part: which award is for which field.

Civilian awards of India

AwardStartedKey fact
Bharat Ratna1954Highest civilian award; at most 3 a year (5 were given in 2024)
Padma Vibhushan1954Second-highest civilian award
Padma Bhushan1954Third-highest
Padma Shri1954Fourth-highest
  • Padma awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year.
  • Civilian awards are not titles; they cannot be used as a prefix or suffix (Article 18; Balaji Raghavan case, 1995).

Gallantry awards

Wartime (in order)Peacetime (in order)
Param Vir Chakra (highest)Ashoka Chakra (highest)
Maha Vir ChakraKirti Chakra
Vir ChakraShaurya Chakra

The wartime awards were instituted on 26 January 1950 (effective from 15 August 1947). The peacetime awards were instituted in 1952 as Ashoka Chakra Class I, II and III and renamed Ashoka Chakra, Kirti Chakra and Shaurya Chakra in 1967.

Literature awards (India)

AwardField / given byStarted
Jnanpith AwardHighest literary award; Bharatiya Jnanpith1965
Sahitya Akademi AwardLiterature in 24 languages1954
Saraswati SammanLiterature; K.K. Birla Foundation1991
Vyas SammanHindi literature; K.K. Birla Foundation1991
Bihari PuraskarHindi/Rajasthani writers of Rajasthan; K.K. Birla Foundation1991
Moortidevi AwardLiterature; Bharatiya Jnanpith1983

Cinema, music and arts (India)

AwardFieldStarted
Dadasaheb Phalke AwardHighest award in Indian cinema1969
National Film AwardsFilms1954
Sangeet Natak Akademi AwardMusic, dance, drama1952
Kalidas SammanArts (Madhya Pradesh govt)1980
Tansen SammanHindustani music (Madhya Pradesh)1980 (approx)
Lata Mangeshkar AwardMusic (several states give awards in her name)–

Sports awards (India)

AwardForStarted
Major Dhyan Chand Khel RatnaHighest sports award (renamed from Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2021)1991–92
Arjuna AwardOutstanding sportspersons1961
Dronacharya AwardCoaches1985
Arjuna Award (Lifetime)Lifetime contribution (earlier Dhyan Chand Award, 2002)2002
Maulana Abul Kalam Azad (MAKA) TrophyBest university in sports1956–57
Rashtriya Khel Protsahan PuraskarOrganisations promoting sport2009
Tenzing Norgay National Adventure AwardAdventure (land, sea, air)1994

Science and other national awards

AwardField
Rashtriya Vigyan Puraskar (2023)Science: Vigyan Ratna, Vigyan Shri, Vigyan Yuva–Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar, Vigyan Team
Gandhi Peace Prize (1995)Peace and social change through non-violence (₹1 crore)
Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development (1986)Peace and development
Nari Shakti PuraskarWomen’s empowerment
Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal PuraskarChildren (5–18 years)
Borlaug AwardAgricultural research

International awards

AwardFieldGiven by / countryStarted
Nobel PrizePhysics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature, Peace, Economics (from 1969)Sweden (Peace: Norway)1901
Ramon Magsaysay Award“Asia’s Nobel”; public service and leadershipPhilippines1957
Pulitzer PrizeJournalism, literature, musicUSA (Columbia University)1917
Booker PrizeFiction in EnglishUK1969
International Booker PrizeFiction translated into EnglishUK2005
Oscars (Academy Awards)FilmsUSA1929
Grammy AwardsMusicUSA1959
Emmy AwardsTelevisionUSA1949
Abel PrizeMathematicsNorway2003
Fields MedalMathematics (under 40, every 4 years)IMU1936
Turing AwardComputer science (“Nobel of computing”)ACM, USA1966
Pritzker PrizeArchitectureUSA1979
Kalinga PrizePopularisation of scienceUNESCO (instituted by Biju Patnaik)1952
Right Livelihood Award“Alternative Nobel”; human rights, environmentSweden1980
Goldman Environmental PrizeGrassroots environment activismUSA1990
Champions of the EarthEnvironmentUNEP2005
World Food PrizeFood and agricultureUSA1987
Templeton PrizeSpiritual and scientific progressUK/USA1972
Laureus World Sports AwardsSportsLaureus Foundation2000
Ballon d’OrFootballFrance Football (magazine)1956

Memory tips

  • Jnanpith = books, Phalke = films, Khel Ratna = sports, Dronacharya = coaches.
  • Abel and Fields = maths; Turing = computers; Pritzker = buildings; Pulitzer = press.
  • Param Vir = war; Ashoka = peace.

Exam-ready one-liners

  1. Bharat Ratna, Padma awards and Sahitya Akademi Award started in 1954.
  2. Param Vir Chakra (war, 1950) and Ashoka Chakra (peace, 1952) are the highest gallantry awards.
  3. Jnanpith (1965) is India’s highest literary award.
  4. Dadasaheb Phalke Award (1969) is India’s highest cinema award.
  5. Khel Ratna was renamed after Major Dhyan Chand in 2021.
  6. Dronacharya Award (1985) is for coaches.
  7. Pulitzer: journalism; Pritzker: architecture; Abel: mathematics; Turing: computer science.
  8. The Ramon Magsaysay Award is called “Asia’s Nobel Prize”.

Related reading

Quiz: test yourself

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Award details (prize money, categories) can change; check the official website of each award for the latest.

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