Bharat Ratna Award Winners List 1954 to 2024: History, Facts and Full List
Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian honour of India. For exam preparation, this topic is very important because it covers history, notable personalities, Indian Presidents, recent recipients, and frequently asked general knowledge facts in one place.
Started
1954
First awarded by President Rajendra Prasad
Category
Civilian
Highest civilian honour in India
Max per year
3
Recipients in any single year
Exam relevance
High
Frequently asked in UPSC & state exams
Bharat Ratna is one of the most important static GK topics for competitive exams because it connects awards, politics, national leaders, social reformers, science, music, sports, and current affairs.
What is the Bharat Ratna Award?
Bharat Ratna is India’s highest civilian honour. It was instituted in 1954 and is awarded to individuals who have made exceptional service or extraordinary contributions in fields such as public service, literature, science, art, social reform, and other areas of national importance.
The recommendation for the award is made by the Prime Minister of India and the honour is conferred by the President of India. A maximum of three persons can receive this award in a year. The award does not carry any monetary benefit. Recipients receive a Sanad signed by the President and a peepal-leaf-shaped medal.
First Three Bharat Ratna Award Winners
Bharat Ratna was first awarded in 1954. The inaugural recipients were C. Rajagopalachari, Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and C. V. Raman. All three were from Tamil Nadu and each of them made a historic contribution to India in politics, education, and science.
C. Rajagopalachari
Last Governor-General of India and founder of the Swatantra Party.
Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
India’s first Vice-President and second President; known for education and philosophy.
C. V. Raman
Famous physicist known for Raman Scattering and Nobel Prize-winning scientific work.
Indian Presidents Who Received Bharat Ratna
Several Bharat Ratna awardees later served as Presidents of India, while some received the award after already becoming President. This section is especially useful for polity and GK exams.
| President | Year of Award |
|---|---|
| Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan | 1954 |
| Rajendra Prasad | 1962 |
| Zakir Husain | 1963 |
| V. V. Giri | 1975 |
| A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | 1997 |
| Pranab Mukherjee | 2019 |
Latest Bharat Ratna Awardees
The recent Bharat Ratna announcements brought focus back to national leadership, agriculture, governance, and social justice. These names are highly important for current affairs and one-liner GK preparation.
Karpoori Thakur (2024)
Former Chief Minister of Bihar, popularly remembered as Jan Nayak.
Lal Krishna Advani (2024)
Former Deputy Prime Minister and one of the most influential leaders in modern Indian politics.
M. S. Swaminathan (2024)
Widely associated with India’s agricultural transformation and Green Revolution work.
Chaudhary Charan Singh (2024)
Remembered for his strong commitment to farmers and rural India.
P. V. Narasimha Rao (2024)
Former Prime Minister known for major economic reforms in the 1990s.
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List
Below is the year-wise Bharat Ratna winners list in a clean table format. Posthumous awardees are marked with an asterisk.
| Year | Recipient | State / Origin | Key Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | C. Rajagopalachari | Tamil Nadu | Last Governor-General of India and founder of the Swatantra Party. |
| 1954 | Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan | Tamil Nadu | India’s first Vice-President and second President. |
| 1954 | C. V. Raman | Tamil Nadu | Nobel Prize-winning physicist known for Raman Scattering. |
| 1955 | Bhagwan Das | Uttar Pradesh | Educationist associated with Kashi Vidyapith and BHU. |
| 1955 | M. Visvesvaraya | Karnataka | Legendary engineer known for dam and infrastructure development. |
| 1955 | Jawaharlal Nehru | Uttar Pradesh | India’s first Prime Minister. |
| 1957 | Govind Ballabh Pant | Uttarakhand | Freedom fighter and first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh. |
| 1958 | Dhondo Keshav Karve | Maharashtra | Social reformer known for women’s education and widow remarriage movement. |
| 1961 | Bidhan Chandra Roy | West Bengal | Known as the Maker of Modern West Bengal. |
| 1961 | Purushottam Das Tandon | Uttar Pradesh | Strong supporter of Hindi as the official language. |
| 1962 | Rajendra Prasad | Bihar | First President of India. |
| 1963 | Zakir Husain | Andhra Pradesh | Third President of India and former VC of AMU. |
| 1963 | Pandurang Vaman Kane | Maharashtra | Great Sanskrit scholar and Indologist. |
| 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri * | Uttar Pradesh | First posthumous Bharat Ratna recipient; known for “Jai Jawan Jai Kisan.” |
| 1971 | Indira Gandhi | Uttar Pradesh | First woman recipient of Bharat Ratna. |
| 1975 | V. V. Giri | Odisha | Former President, freedom fighter, and trade union leader. |
| 1976 | K. Kamaraj * | Tamil Nadu | Popularly known as the “Kingmaker” in Indian politics. |
| 1980 | Mother Teresa | West Bengal | Founded Missionaries of Charity and devoted her life to humanitarian service. |
| 1983 | Vinoba Bhave * | Maharashtra | Leader of the Bhoodan Movement. |
| 1987 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | Pakistan | First non-citizen to receive Bharat Ratna; known as Frontier Gandhi. |
| 1988 | M. G. Ramachandran * | Tamil Nadu | Actor-politician and founder of AIADMK. |
| 1990 | B. R. Ambedkar | Maharashtra | Chief architect of the Indian Constitution and social reformer. |
| 1990 | Non-citizen recipient entry appears inconsistent in source | — | Source text seems to contain a typo in this row, so verify before publishing. |
| 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi | Uttar Pradesh | India’s youngest Prime Minister. |
| 1991 | Vallabhbhai Patel | Gujarat | Known as the Iron Man of India. |
| 1991 | Morarji Desai | Gujarat | First non-Congress Prime Minister of India. |
| 1992 | Abul Kalam Azad | West Bengal | India’s first Education Minister; linked with National Education Day. |
| 1992 | J. R. D. Tata | Maharashtra | Industrialist and pioneer of Indian aviation. |
| 1992 | Satyajit Ray | West Bengal | Legendary filmmaker who brought Indian cinema global recognition. |
| 1997 | Gulzarilal Nanda | Punjab | Served twice as interim Prime Minister. |
| 1997 | Aruna Asaf Ali | West Bengal | Key face of the Quit India Movement. |
| 1997 | A. P. J. Abdul Kalam | Tamil Nadu | Missile Man of India and later President of India. |
| 1998 | M. S. Subbulakshmi | Tamil Nadu | Legendary Carnatic vocalist. |
| 1998 | Chidambaram Subramaniam | Tamil Nadu | Major contributor to India’s Green Revolution. |
| 1999 | Jayaprakash Narayan | Bihar | Loknayak and leader of the Total Revolution movement. |
| 1999 | Amartya Sen | West Bengal | Nobel Laureate economist known for welfare economics. |
| 1999 | Gopinath Bordoloi | Assam | First Chief Minister of Assam. |
| 1999 | Ravi Shankar | Uttar Pradesh | World-famous classical musician and sitar maestro. |
| 2001 | Lata Mangeshkar | Maharashtra | Known as the Nightingale of India. |
| 2001 | Bismillah Khan | Uttar Pradesh | Shehnai maestro who popularised the instrument globally. |
| 2009 | Bhimsen Joshi | Karnataka | Renowned Hindustani classical vocalist. |
| 2014 | C. N. R. Rao | Karnataka | Eminent chemist known for work in solid-state chemistry. |
| 2014 | Sachin Tendulkar | Maharashtra | Cricket legend known as the Master Blaster. |
| 2015 | Madan Mohan Malaviya | Uttar Pradesh | Founder of Banaras Hindu University. |
| 2015 | Atal Bihari Vajpayee | Madhya Pradesh | Former Prime Minister, poet, and statesman. |
| 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee | West Bengal | Former President of India. |
| 2019 | Nanaji Deshmukh | Maharashtra | Worked in education, rural development, and public life. |
| 2019 | Bhupen Hazarika | Assam | Iconic singer, lyricist, poet, and filmmaker. |
| 2024 | Karpoori Thakur * | Bihar | Former Chief Minister of Bihar, remembered as Jan Nayak. |
| 2024 | Lal Krishna Advani | — | Former Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. |
| 2024 | M. S. Swaminathan | Thiruvananthapuram | Associated with India’s agricultural transformation. |
| 2024 | Chaudhary Charan Singh * | Uttar Pradesh | Remembered for his lifelong dedication to farmers. |
| 2024 | P. V. Narasimha Rao | Andhra Pradesh | Led major economic reforms in the 1990s. |
Why Bharat Ratna Matters for Exams
- Questions are often asked on the first recipient, latest recipient, and posthumous recipients.
- Presidents, Prime Ministers, scientists, musicians, and social reformers from this list are common exam topics.
- Recent Bharat Ratna awardees are important for current affairs as well as interview preparation.
- The award is also linked with Indian polity, constitutional provisions, and national history.
Expert Insight
When you study Bharat Ratna, do not just memorize names. Focus on four things: year, person, field, and one-line contribution. That approach makes revision faster and helps you solve both direct and twisted GK questions more confidently.
Keyword Tags
भारत रत्न पुरस्कार विजेता सूची
1954 से 2024
इतिहास, तथ्य, पहले विजेता और पूरी सूची — UPSC व प्रतियोगी परीक्षाओं के लिए सम्पूर्ण गाइड।
भारत रत्न भारत का सर्वोच्च नागरिक सम्मान है, जो देश के प्रति असाधारण योगदान देने वाले व्यक्तियों को दिया जाता है। यह सम्मान कला, साहित्य, विज्ञान, सार्वजनिक सेवा और मानवता के क्षेत्र में उत्कृष्ट कार्य करने वालों को प्रदान किया जाता है।
भारत रत्न — मुख्य तथ्य
शुरुआत
1954
राष्ट्रपति राजेंद्र प्रसाद द्वारा
श्रेणी
नागरिक
भारत का सर्वोच्च सम्मान
प्रति वर्ष अधिकतम
3
एक वर्ष में विजेता
परीक्षा महत्व
उच्च
UPSC व राज्य परीक्षाओं में
भारत रत्न क्या है?
भारत रत्न की शुरुआत 1954 में हुई थी। यह पुरस्कार भारत सरकार द्वारा दिया जाता है और इसे राष्ट्रपति द्वारा प्रदान किया जाता है।
शुरुआत में यह केवल कला, साहित्य, विज्ञान और सार्वजनिक सेवाओं तक सीमित था, लेकिन बाद में इसे किसी भी क्षेत्र में उत्कृष्ट योगदान के लिए दिया जाने लगा। यह पुरस्कार हर साल जरूरी नहीं दिया जाता।
पहले भारत रत्न विजेता (1954)
डॉ. सर्वपल्ली राधाकृष्णन
शिक्षा और दर्शन के क्षेत्र में असाधारण योगदान
सी. राजगोपालाचारी
स्वतंत्रता सेनानी और प्रमुख राजनेता
सी. वी. रमन
भौतिक विज्ञान में नोबेल पुरस्कार विजेता
हाल के भारत रत्न विजेता
भारत रत्न विजेता — प्रमुख सूची
| वर्ष | नाम | क्षेत्र |
|---|---|---|
| 1954 | सी. वी. रमन | विज्ञान |
| 1963 | ज़ाकिर हुसैन | शिक्षा |
| 1971 | इंदिरा गांधी | राजनीति |
| 1983 | विनोबा भावे | सामाजिक सेवा |
| 1990 | डॉ. बी. आर. अंबेडकर | संविधान निर्माता |
| 1997 | ए. पी. जे. अब्दुल कलाम | विज्ञान |
| 1999 | अमर्त्य सेन | अर्थशास्त्र |
| 2001 | लता मंगेशकर | संगीत |
| 2014 | सचिन तेंदुलकर | खेल |
| 2019 | प्रणब मुखर्जी | राजनीति |
| 2024 | एम. एस. स्वामीनाथन | कृषि |
पूरी सूची में 50+ से अधिक विजेता शामिल हैं
राष्ट्रपति जिन्हें भारत रत्न मिला
डॉ. राजेंद्र प्रसाद
1962
सर्वपल्ली राधाकृष्णन
1954
ए. पी. जे. अब्दुल कलाम
1997
प्रणब मुखर्जी
2019
परीक्षा के लिए क्यों महत्वपूर्ण है?
UPSC, SSC, राज्य PCS और करंट अफेयर्स इंटरव्यू में भारत रत्न से जुड़े प्रश्न बार-बार पूछे जाते हैं।
- → पहला भारत रत्न किसे मिला
- → नवीनतम विजेता कौन हैं
- → मरणोपरांत पुरस्कार किसे मिला
- → राजनीति, विज्ञान, कला के नाम
एक्सपर्ट सुझाव
सिर्फ नाम याद मत करें — वर्ष, व्यक्ति, क्षेत्र और योगदान — इन चारों पर ध्यान दें। इससे tricky questions भी आसानी से solve होते हैं।
"भारत रत्न केवल एक पुरस्कार नहीं है — यह उन महान व्यक्तियों के प्रति सम्मान है जिन्होंने देश और मानवता के लिए असाधारण योगदान दिया है।"
क्विक समरी
- ✓ भारत का सर्वोच्च नागरिक सम्मान
- ✓ शुरुआत 1954 में हुई
- ✓ हर साल अधिकतम 3 लोगों को दिया जाता है
- ✓ किसी भी क्षेत्र में योगदान के लिए
- ✓ भारतीय और विदेशी दोनों को दिया जा सकता है
- ✓ मरणोपरांत भी दिया जा सकता है
More In General Knowledge
Read more articles from the same category or open the full category archive directly.
General Knowledge
Nobel Prize 2025 Winners, History, Categories, Indian Winners & Important Facts (Hindi + English)
React js
How to Build a Debounced Search Input in React.js
React js