The Bharat Ratna Award is the highest civilian honour of India, instituted in 1954 to recognise exceptional service or performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. Conferred by the President of India, the award is given without distinction of race, occupation, position, or gender. It acknowledges outstanding contributions in areas such as art, literature, science, public service, sports, and social work, reflecting the nation’s gratitude to individuals who have made a lasting impact on society.
Bharat Ratna 2026 Award Winners
The Bharat Ratna award is the highest civilian award in India which was instituted in the year 1954. The Bharat Ratna award is awarded to people for their exceptional public service and performance of the highest order in any field of human activity like literature science and art.
Any person in any occupation sex or position is eligible for the Bharat Ratna award. In a year, a maximum of 3 people is awarded the Bharat Ratna award. The Bharat Ratna award is presented by the President of India. This award is also awarded posthumously, till now 16 people have been awarded Bharat Ratna posthumously.
Bharat Ratna Award Winners List (1954-2026)
The Bharat Ratna award was received by 48 persons and 17 were awarded posthumously. A list of all the people who were facilitated with the Bharat Ratna award is listed below with their contributions to society.
| Year | Recipients | About |
| Bharat Ratna 1954 | C. Rajagopalachari | Activist, statesman, and lawyer |
| Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan | India’s first Vice-President and second President | |
| C. V. Raman | Physicists, mathematicians, and scientists | |
| Bharat Ratna 1955 | Bhagwan Das | Activist, philosopher, and educationist |
| M. Visvesvaraya | Civil engineer, statesman, and Diwan of Mysore | |
| Jawaharlal Nehru | Activist and author served as the Prime Minister of India | |
| Bharat Ratna 1957 | Govind Ballabh Pant | Activist and first Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh |
| Bharat Ratna 1958 | Dhondo Keshav Karve | Social reformer and educator |
| Bharat Ratna 1961 | Bidhan Chandra Roy | Physician, political leader, philanthropist, educationist, and social worker |
| Purushottam Das Tandon | Activist and speaker of the United Provinces Legislative Assembly | |
| Bharat Ratna 1962 | Rajendra Prasad | Activist, lawyer, statesman, and scholar |
| Bharat Ratna 1963 | Zakir Husain | Activist, economist, and education philosopher served as a Vice-Chancellor of Aligarh Muslim University and the Governor of Bihar |
| Pandurang Vaman Kane | Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, known for his five-volume literary work | |
| Bharat Ratna 1966 | Lal Bahadur Shastri | Activist and served as the second Prime Minister of India |
| Bharat Ratna 1971 | Indira Gandhi | First women Prime Minister of India |
| Bharat Ratna 1975 | V. V. Giri | Trade Unionist |
| Bharat Ratna 1976 | K. Kamaraj | Independence activist and statesman, former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| Bharat Ratna 1980 | Mother Teresa | Catholic nun and the founder of the Missionaries of Charity. |
| 1983 | Vinoba Bhave | Activist, social reformer, and a close associate of Mahatma Gandhi |
| Bharat Ratna 1987 | Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan | First noncitizen, independence activist |
| Bharat Ratna 1988 | M. G. Ramachandran | Actor turned politician, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu |
| Bharat Ratna 1990 | B.R. Ambedkar | Social reformer and leader of the Dalits |
| Nelson Mandela | Leader of the Anti-Apartheid Movement in South Africa, President of South Africa | |
| Bharat Ratna 1991 | Rajiv Gandhi | Gandhi was the ninth Prime Minister of India serving from 1984 to 1989. |
| Vallabhbhai Patel | Activist and first Deputy Prime Minister of India | |
| Morarji Desai | Activist, and Prime Minister of India | |
| Bharat Ratna 1992 | Abul Kalam Azad | Activist and first Minister of education |
| J. R. D. Tata | Industrialist, philanthropist, and aviation pioneer | |
| Satyajit Ray | Director, filmmaker, writer, novelist | |
| Bharat Ratna 1997 | Gulzarilal Nanda | Activist, and interim Prime Minister of India. |
| Aruna Asaf Ali | Activist | |
| A.P.J Abdul Kalam | Aerospace and defense scientist | |
| Bharat Ratna 1998 | M. S. Subbulakshmi | Carnatic classical vocalist |
| Chidambaram Subramaniam | Activist and former Minister of Agriculture of India | |
| Bharat Ratna 1999 | Jayaprakash Narayan | Activist, and social reformer |
| Amartya Sen | Economist | |
| Gopinath Bordoloi | Activist | |
| Ravi Shankar | Musician, sitar player | |
| Bharat Ratna 2001 | Lata Mangeshkar | Singer |
| Bismillah Khan | Hindustani classical shehnai player | |
| Bharat Ratna 2009 | Bhimsen Joshi | Hindustani classical vocalist |
| Bharat Ratna 2014 | C. N. R. Rao | Chemist and professor, author |
| Sachin Tendulkar | Cricketer | |
| Bharat Ratna 2015 | Madan Mohan Malaviya | Scholar and educational reformer. |
| Atal Bihari Bajpayee | Elected nine times to the Lok Sabha, twice to the Rajya Sabha, and served as the Prime Minister of India for three terms. | |
| Bharat Ratna 2019 | Pranab Mukherjee | Indian politician, and senior leader in the Indian National Congress. |
| Nanaji Deshmukh | A social activist from India, education, health, and rural self-reliance. | |
| Bhupen Hazarika | Indian playback singer, lyricist, musician, singer, poet, and filmmaker from Assam. | |
| Bharat Ratna 2024 (Posthumously) | Karpoori Thakur | A renowned socialist leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar |
| Bharat Ratna 2024 | Lal Krishna Advani | A Veteran Bhartiya Janta Party Leader |
| Bharat Ratna 2024 | PV Narsimha Rao | Former Prime Minister |
| Bharat Ratna 2024 | Chaudhary Charan Singh | A former Prime Minister who supported the agricultural sector and upheld the rights of the farmers. |
| Bharat Ratna 2024 | MS Swaminathan | Father of Green Revolution |
Bharat Ratna 2026 Award Winners’ Names
In a year only three Bharat Ratna awards are awarded. According to the constitution, the Bharat Ratna cannot be used as a prefix or suffix to the recipient’s name. The recipient of the award is facilitated with a sanad or certificate signed by the president and a medal.
The medal is in the form of a peepal leaf which is 5.8 cm long, 4.7 cm wide, and 3.1 mm thick. It is a bronze medal and in the middle of the medal, the image of the sun is embossed which is 1.6 cm in diameter. On the other side of the medal state emblem and the Moto of the country are written in Devnagri script.
First Recipient of Bharat Ratna Awards
The first Bharat Ratna award was awarded to politician C. Rajagopalachari, philosopher Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, and scientist CV Raman in the year 1954.
Bharat Ratna Award Winner 2026
Karpoori Thakur, a renowned socialist leader and former Chief Minister of Bihar, is set to be posthumously conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award. The announcement of this prestigious honor coincides with the eve of his 100th birth anniversary.
Another recipient of the Bharat Ratna Award for the year 2024 is Lal Krishna Advani. On 3rd February 2024, Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed that Lal Krishna Advani, the veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, will be conferred with the prestigious Bharat Ratna award. This recognition marks a significant honor for Advani’s contributions to Indian politics and public life.
The Bharat Ratna, India’s most esteemed civilian award, is poised to recognize the remarkable contributions of three exceptional individuals whose endeavors have profoundly influenced the nation’s course. Former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, along with renowned agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan, are slated to receive this prestigious honor, underscoring their unmatched commitment to India’s advancement.
Youngest Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award
The youngest Bharat Ratna recipe in India was Sachin Tendulkar who received this award in the year 2014 when he was 40 years old. He is one of the finest Indian cricketers of all time and is considered a legend in the history of Cricket.
Oldest Recipient of Bharat Ratna Award
Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest person to receive the Bharat Ratna Award. He was a social reformer and was awarded on his 100th birthday in 1958
List of Dadasaheb Phalke Award Winners f...
Mumbai to Host Prince William’s Earthsho...
What Is Bhavya Bharat Bhushan Award? Sad...
