Awards

International Awards and Prizes

Nobel Prizes-The Nobel prizes lore awarded each year under the will of Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist, engineer and inventor of dynamite, who died in 1896. The award is given to those who have made most outstanding contribution in the field of physics, chemistry and physiology or medicine, who have produced most distinguished literary work of an idealist tendency and those who have contributed most towards world peace. The Nobel Prize for economics was first awarded in 1969 and was established by Riksband, the Central Bank of Sweden. Other awards started in 1901.The fund is managed by a board of directors, the head of which is appointed by the Swedish Government.

Magsaysay Awards-This award was instituted in memory of the Philippines President Ramon Magsaysay who died in an air crash in 1957. The award carries a gold medal, $ 50,000 and a certificate a and is awarded for the following five services : (i) Government service; (ii ) Public service; (iii) Community Leadership; (iv) Journalism, Literature and Communicative Arts; (v) International Understanding. The awards have been given from 1958 onwards.

Kalinga Prize- This award is presented each year by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to a person with a distinguished career of service in the interpretation of science and research to the public.The prize was instituted by Biju Patnaik, industrialist and politician who is the founder and Chairman of the Kalinga Foundation Trust in the State of Orissa. UNESCO awarded the prize for the first time in 1952. The prize comprises an award of 1,000 UK pounds.

Templeton Foundation Prize- This is awarded by the Templeton – foundation for progress in religion and was instituted in 1972. The main intention of the prize is to call attention and provide recognition to ideas, insights, actions and accomplishments which have been or may be instrumental in widening man’s love in God.

Pulitzer Prizes-This has been established by Joseph Pulitzer an American publisher, in 1917 to encourage literature and journalism in USA. The awards are given in the fields of General Reporting, National Reporting, Feature Writing, Poetry, Biography, Fiction, Drama, History, Special Local Reporting, International Reporting and for public service.

E.M. Forster Award-This award is given to an Indian author for contribution to English literature and was instituted by a Publishing Company.

Jawaharlal Nehru Award for International Understanding-This award was instituted by the Government of India. It is an annual award given for outstanding contribution to the promotion of international understanding, good will and friendship among the peoples of the world. The award carries an amount of Rs. 15 lakh and a citation.

Indira Gandhi Peace Award -The government prize of Rs. 33 lakh or its equivalent in foreign exchange in memory of Mrs. Indira Gandhi for outstanding contributions in the field of peace, disarmament and development. The administration of the prize has been entrusted to the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust.

Simon Bolivar Prize- The $25,000 Prize is awarded by UNESCO every two years to reward activity of outstanding merit which, in accordance with the ideals of Simon Bolivar has contributed to freedom, independence and dignity of people and to the strengthening of new international economic, social and cultural order.

The Booker Prize- Established in 1968, the 50,000 pound Booker Prize, is awarded to the best novel published for the first time each year in UK by a British Publisher. The prize is open to novels written in English by citizen of the British Commonwealth,Republic of Ireland and South Africa.

Gandhi Peace Prize- Institute on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi in 1995, the annual award is the highest given by the Government of India in any field. The international peace prize, a Rs. 1 Crore worth award, was launched for recognizing socials economic and political transformation through non-violence and other Gandhian Methods.

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Indian Defence Awards


For the purpose of classification, Indian honours and awards can be divided into two categories :

(a) Gallantry awards.
(b) Non-gallantry awards.

The gallantry awards are again divisible into two categories:

(a) Those for gallantry in the face of the enemy.
(b) Those for gallantry other than in the face of the enemy.

The first category of the gallantry awards comprises :

1. Param Vir Chakra
2. Maha Vir Chakra
3. Vir Chakra
4. Sena, Nao Sena and Vayu Sena Medal
5. Mention in Dispatches
6. Chiefs of Staff Commendation Card

The second category of the gallantry awards comprise the following :

1. Ashoka Chakra *
2. Kirti Chakra *
3. Shaurya Chakra *

* These were originally named Ashoka Chakra Class I, Class II, Class III

Among non-gallantry awards, the following can be mentioned :

1. Bharat Ratna
2. Padma Vibhushan
3. Padma Bhushan
4. Param Vishisht Seva Medal
5. Padma Shri
6. Sarvottam Yudh Seva Medal
7. Uttam Yudh Seva Medal
8. Ati Vishisht Seva Medal
9. Yudh Seva Medal
10. Vishisht Seva Medal
11. 30 Years Long Seva Medal
12. 20 Years Long Service Medal
13. 9 Years Long Service Medal
14. Meritorious Service Medal
15. Long Service and Good Conduct Medal
16. General Service Medal – 1947
17. Samar Seva Medal
18. Sainya Seva Medal
19. Videsh Seva Medal
20. Commendation Card
21. Raksha Medal
22. Poorvi Star
23. Paschimi Star
24. Sangram Medal
25. Wound Medal
26. 25th Independence Anniversary Medal

Total Awards won:-

Param Vir Chakra – 21
Maha Vir Chakra – 220
Vir Chakra – 1342
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Bharat Ratna Awardees

Kumari Lata Dinanath Mangeshkar
Arts : 2001 : India : Maharashtra
Late. Ustad Bismillah Khan
Arts : 2001 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Prof. Amartya Sen
Literature & Education : 1999 : United Kingdom :
Lokpriya Gopinath (posth.) Bordoloi
Public Affairs : 1999 : India : Assam
Loknayak Jayprakash (Posth.) Narayan
Public Affairs : 1999 : India : Bihar
Pandit Ravi Shankar
Arts : 1999 : United States :
Shri Chidambaram Subramaniam
Public Affairs : 1998 : India : Tamil Nadu
Smt. M.S. Subbulakshmi
Arts : 1998 : India : Tamil Nadu
Shri (Dr.) A.P.J. Abdul Kalam
Science & Engineering. : 1997 : India : Delhi
Smt. Aruna Asaf (Posth.) Ali
Public Affairs : 1997 : India : Delhi
Shri Gulzari Lal (Shri) Nanda
Public Affairs : 1997 : India : Gujarat
Shri Jehangir Ratanji Dadabhai Tata
Trade & Industry : 1992 : India : Maharashtra
Shri Maulana Abul Kalam Azad
Public Affairs : 1992 : India : West Bengal
Shri Satyajit Ray
Arts : 1992 : India : West Bengal
Shri Morarji Ranchhodji Desai
Public Affairs : 1991 : India : Gujarat
Shri Rajiv Gandhi
Public Affairs : 1991 : India : Delhi
Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel
Public Affairs : 1991 : India : Gujarat
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedakr
Public Affairs : 1990 : India : Maharashtra
Dr. Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela
Public Affairs : 1990 : South Africa :
Shri Marudur Gopalan Ramachandran
Public Affairs : 1988 : India : Tamil Nadu
Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan
Social Work : 1987 : Pakistan :
Shri Acharya Vinoba Bhave
Social Work : 1983 : India : Maharashtra
Mother Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu Teresa
Social Work : 1980 : India : West Bengal
Shri Kumaraswamy Kamraj
Public Affairs : 1976 : India : Tamil Nadu
Shri V.V. Giri
Public Affairs : 1975 : India : Orissa
Smt. Indira Gandhi
Public Affairs : 1971 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri
Public Affairs : 1966 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Pandurang Vaman Kane
Social Work : 1963 : India : Maharashtra
Dr. Zakir Hussain
Public Affairs : 1963 : India : Andhra Pradesh
Dr. Rajendra Prasad
Public Affairs : 1962 : India : Bihar
Dr. Bidhan Chandra Roy
Public Affairs : 1961 : India : West Bengal
Shri Purushottam Das Tandon
Public Affairs : 1961 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Dhondo Keshav Karve
Social Work : 1958 : India : Maharashtra
Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant
Public Affairs : 1957 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. Bhagwan Das
Literature & Education : 1955 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Shri Jawaharlal Nehru
Public Affairs : 1955 : India : Uttar Pradesh
Dr. M. Vishweshwariah
Civil Service : 1955 : India : Karnataka
Shri Chakravarti Rajagopalachari
Public Affairs : 1954 : India : Tamil Nadu
Dr. Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman
Science & Engineering. : 1954 : India : Tamil Nadu
Dr. Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan
Public Affairs : 1954 : India : Tamil Nadu